Naidu uploads photo of sexual abuse victim
Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu landed in controversy after he posted a picture with a rescued victim of alleged sexual abuse and her family online through his social media account, thus violating the law which prohibits the identification of a minor victim.
On April 21, the girl, a native of Guntur, was allegedly abducted by 45-year old Nageshwar Rao and taken to Kashmir. After obtaining reports, police conducted a rescue operation to gain access to her, and subsequently succeeded in bringing her back home in 45 days.
Police then filed a case against the accused under Section 376 (rape), 376 (i), (m) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and sections under POCSO and Nirbhaya Act.
After the rescue operation, the family, along with the survivor, met Naidu. Commemorating this, Naidu, through his social media account, posted a picture with the teenager and her kin, which was later deleted. But the damage had been done by then, since the girl’s identity was revealed in public, violating the norms of the IPC.
According to Section 23 (2) of the POCSO Act, ‘No reports in any media can disclose the identity of a child including their name, address, photograph, family details, school, neighbourhood or any other particulars which may lead to disclosure of identity of the child.”
The only exception is if a special court, competent to try the case under the Act, permits such disclosure.