By Kashifa Wisal
A Special POCSO Court in Pune has handed down a life sentence to a 37 year-old tempo driver from Karvenagar young life for the crime of sexually assaulting his three-year-old stepdaughter back in 2018.
The Judge Kavita Shirbhate noted that the case was an extreme one and that the child’s injuries were of such severity that she underwent reconstructive surgery on her genitalia. The child was admitted for three months in a hospital, and from the doctor’s point of view, anesthesia was used during the procedure because of “unendurable pain.” The sentencing decision was largely based on the victim’s suffering, as disclosed in the trial, in accordance with the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
During the trial, the prosecution called nine witnesses for their depositions. State Special Attorney Nitin Ronghe and Advocate Gaurav Jachak argued on behalf of the state and the survivor’s mother, respectively, at the trial. The defense’s argument regarding a road accident as the cause of the girl’s injuries was dismissed by the court because it did not agree with the medical evidence and statements of medical officers who examined her. The Judge noticed that the accused, who was 30 years old at the time of the incident, had not presented any “specific and cogent defence” to refute the prosecutorial evidence.
The event took place between 9 pm on February 5, 2018, and 12:30 am on February 6, 2018. The father forcibly took the child on the two-wheeler after he had beaten her mother, as she opposed him. They had only been married two months before. On his way back home, the mother found the crying child with signs of injury on her and medical treatment was immediately sought. After it was found out that the girl had been sexually assaulted, the mother made a complaint to the police, which led to the suspect’s arrest the same morning.
The offender has been behind bars for seven years and seven months since he was taken into custody. The court also instructed the Pune district legal aid administration to plan and take actions to cover the expenses for the survivor, following the ground rules of the Mano Dhairya project in the state.