Mumbai: 55-year-old acquitted 5 years after arrest for sexual assault

MUMBAI: Five years after a 55-year-old man was arrested for sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl, a special Pocso Act court acquitted him after finding “some substance” in his claims that he was implicated over a fight over non-payment of Rs 5,500 by the child’s father. The ‘assault’ came to light after the child’s mother taught her about “good and bad touch” after watching a crime show on TV.
The court said, “Prosecution failed to prove circumstantial evidence by proving the situation of the spot of incident. Prosecution evidence on the point of incident as to day, date and time of incident is vague. Prosecution evidence... falls short to prove offences with which accused has been charged.” The accused was out on bail.
The son of the accused said he had operated the victim’s DJ set for 11 days during Navratri and was promised payment but as he was not paid, for New Year he refused to play it again. He said when he asked for his money, there was a quarrel and the child’s father beat the accused. He claimed his father was falsely implicated.
The child’s mother told court on January 9, 2016, she watched an episode of the crime show, where a man had sexually abused his grandchild. She said at the end of the show, the host advised viewers to educate their children about four body parts that nobody should be allowed to touch. The mother said she explained that to her child. The child then told her about the accused.
The child told court the accused took her to the terrace and sexually abused her. She said he did these acts “long time ago”. She said when she told her mother about it, she filed a police complaint. The court said the child did not give details about the place, time and date.
The court said there was an unexplained delay in lodging an FIR too.