Rape bid on minor Dalit girl: Police say ‘forget’ to apply POCSO Act to FIR

PILIBHIT: A 35-year-old man was booked for allegedly attempting to outrage the modesty of a 14-year-old

Dalit girl

in a village under

Madhotanda

police station, but police "forgot" to slap the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the accused.

Notably, police have recorded 2006 as the year of the girl’s birth in the FIR.

Asked about the slip, SHO Ram Sewak said, “It happened mistakenly, but we would add appropriate sections of the POCSO Act to the FIR during the course of the investigation.”

“We have, however, booked the accused and his brother, residents of the girl’s locality, under sections 354 (force or assault to a woman with intent of outraging her modesty), 452 (house trespass), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on a written complaint lodged by the girl on Saturday afternoon,” added the SHO.

The complainant alleged that the accused barged into her house around 11 pm on December 25 and made a bid to outrage her modesty. As she raised alarms, her family members rescued but the accused managed to escape, she said.

“The next morning, the accused and his elder brother beat me up and hurled derogatory and casteist remarks at me. When neighbours assembled, they fled the spot but not before threatening me with my life,” alleged the girl.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

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