The special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court on April 26 convicted the rape accused, Mangi Sonkar (49), and sentenced him to seven years’ imprisonment after a 9-year-old rape victim, living on the street, deposed in court and nailed her attacker.
The rape victim, who is the daughter of a hearing and speech-impaired woman living on the streets, disclosed about the incident when the child, uncomfortable with the male defence lawyer in court, was pacified by the judge and whispered in her ear about the rape.
Interestingly, the minor had not made the allegations of rape either before the cops or doctors due to the male presence and had only mentioned the molestation.
According to the reports published in the ‘Times of India’ the court said ‘the victim has been brought up in very insecure atmosphere. It is but natural, impossible for a child who has been brought up in such condition, to depose before anyone and to disclose the fact of rape committed on her in presence of male person.’
Recalling the incident the rape survivor said, ‘it happened on September 9, 2014. She said after everyone fell asleep, the attacked her, who was sleeping with his family on the other side of the footpath.’
The next morning, she told her mother about the incident, the victim added.The
The mother in turn took the help of a local man, Yusuf, who took them to Byculla police station and registered a complaint.
The court also said she could not properly explain to her mother the extent of her ordeal due to barriers in communication.
The court refuted the defence claims that the accused had been falsely accused at Yusuf’s behest. The court said, “The prime reason for attaching such an importance to the testimony of the victim is that a girl or a woman in the tradition-bound non-permissive society of India would be extremely reluctant to falsely implicate or even to admit any incident, which is likely to reflect on her chastity or to put at risk her own image, dignity and reputation in the society.”
