Auto driver sentenced to life for kidnap, sexual assault of 5-yr-old

THE ACCUSED LEFT THE VICTIM INJURED AND BLEEDING AFTER ASSAULTING HER

MUMBAI: A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act court on Wednesday sentenced a 34-year-old autorickshaw driver to life imprisonment for abducting and sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl at Aarey Milk Colony in 2015.

The minor had suffered around 27 injuries and had to undergo multiple surgeries.

Special judge Bharti Kale convicted the driver, Shiv Kumar, alias Shiva Rana, under relevant provisions of the Pocso Act, and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The court also imposed a fine of ₹50,000, of which ₹40,000 is to be paid to the victim as compensation.

According to the prosecution’s case, on March 1, 2015, the victim had gone to buy milk near her house, and while returning home, she met the accused.

The girl in her testimony told the court that Rana approached her saying he was known to her father and would drop her home. The girl said the accused forced her to sit on his lap while he drove the three-wheeler.

The minor soon realised that the accused was taking her to some unknown area, and she started crying and shouting. The accused slapped her and took her to a secluded spot in Aarey Colony, and sexually assaulted her in his auto. Kumar left the child bleeding with several injuries on her private parts.

A biker spotted the girl and took her to the police station. Officers traced her parents, and they rushed her to a hospital.

Public prosecutor Geeta Sharma pointed out that the medical report showed that the girl suffered around 27 injuries and was in the hospital for over three months.