MUMBAI: A plucky 6-year-old who was kidnapped, beaten, raped, and left on the road with severe injuries that put her in the hospital for around four months, went back to court to depose and identify the accused, a 35-year-old auto rickshaw driver. The deposition helped convict and sentence the man to life imprisonment on Thursday. The special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act court also fined the accused, Shivkumar Rana, a total of Rs 50,000.
“Out of the fine amount, Rs 40,000 be given to the victim, as compensation, after appeal period is over. The court recommends payment of compensation to the victim as per the Victim Compensation Scheme. The copy of judgment be forwarded to the District Legal Aid Authority, Mumbai,” the court said.
Special public prosecutor Geeta Sharma relied on the statements of the child, her parents, the police, medical officers and a CCTV camera technician. The child’s detailed description of the accused after the incident in 2015 had helped the police prepare his sketch. She had described him as “tall, thin and dark, wearing khaki clothes, a thread on his wrist and black chappals, Hindi-speaking and paan-chewing.”
During investigation, CCTV camera footage from a traffic signal near the place where the incident took place, showed the child in the vehicle of the accused. The police traced the vehicle and nabbed the accused on March 10, 2015.
The child told the court that on the night of the incident on March 1, 2015, when she was on her way home after purchasing milk, the accused stopped her. He told her that he was her father’s friend and would drop her home. The child said that despite her refusal, he forcibly made her sit with him in the front seat. She said that after they reached the “jungle”, the accused stopped and sexually assaulted her in the vehicle. She said that he then pushed her onto the road and told her that her father would pick her up.