Delhi-HC sentences man to life-imprisonment for sexually assaulting 3.5-year-old boy
The Delhi HC has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for sodomizing a three-and-a-half-year-old boy, observing that the child was subjected to traumatic and brutal sexual assault. Dismissing the man's appeal, it upheld a trial court's order convicting him for the offenses of aggravated penetrative assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and kidnapping and wrongful confinement under the IPC.
Child was subject to brutal sexual assault: HC bench
A bench of justices S Muralidhar and Vinod Goel said, "The victim was a young three-and-a-half-year-old child...subjected to traumatic and brutal sexual assault by the convict." "In the circumstances, the court does not find any reason whatsoever to interfere with the sentence awarded to him for the offenses," it said. The bench noted the boy was "too young to depose" in the court.
Boy was sexually assaulted in Feb 2014
The incident took place on February 11, 2014, when the child's father had come home to have lunch while the boy was playing outside his house. When the boy did not return home after some time, he asked his wife to search for him and later lodged a missing complaint at the Madhu Vihar Police Station in East Delhi.
Police found the child in the accused's room
While searching for the child, the police reached a nearby photocopy shop and on showing the boy's photograph were told that a man had taken the kid to the building's roof. On opening the room, the police had found the child along with the accused and seeing this, the agitated crowd started beating the man. Accused Vinod Soren was arrested.
Accused claims he had been falsely implicated
Soren claimed the boy was brought to his room by some people who assaulted him and later, police came to save him. He also claimed he didn't do any wrong act with the child. A trial court held him guilty of the offenses and imposed a fine of Rs. 41,000; it directed that a compensation of Rs. 7.5 lakh be paid to the victim.
HC observed the accused didn't question crucial forensic report
The HC, while dismissing Soren's appeal, said he didn't question the correctness of the forensic analysis report, and the conclusion drawn by the trial court that this was a clinching piece of evidence cannot possibly be faulted. It noted the victim was rescued from the convict's room which was locked from inside and opened by him, saying this was "more than adequate evidence".
