09 November,2020 08:24 AM IST | Pune | mid-day online correspondent
Photo for representational purpose
In a shocking incident, an 8-year-old girl was sexually assaulted by her father when she was in his custody following the divorce from her mother. When the incident came into light, the girl's mother made multiple rounds of Dattawadi police station in Pune but cops allegedly refused to register an FIR.
As per a report in Pune Mirror, she then approached the special sessions court which took cognisance of her complaint and ordered a probe.
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The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) had referred the matter to Muskan, an NGO that deals with cases of child abuse. However, the mother alleged that during counselling, the girl was traumatised after they suddenly put her on a video call with the father.
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The complainant is a resident of Jambhulwadi and has a small business of making jewellery. She got married to a software engineer in June 2004 and gave birth in July 2012. Due to some dispute, they separated. The court gave the girl's custody to her father while the mother had visitation rights for every first and third weekend of the month.
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According to the complaint, the girl started living with her father after she filed for divorce in July 2017. Even after that, she met her daughter regularly.
However, in June 2019, he removed the maid and caretaker and put restrictions on the meetings between the mother and the daughter. Following this, the complainant was unable to meet her daughter regularly but the child used to call her secretly. In July 2019, when the girl was brought to her house, she noticed that the child was suffering from some physical issues. She took her to a gynaecologist and it was revealed that she was suffering from mental trauma. The complainant then took her to a child psychologist where the girl complained about how her father would inappropriately touch her private parts. Upon inquiry, she narrated multiple incidents of sexual abuse and said he had threatened her to not disclose this to anyone.
After reports from the gynaecologist and child psychologist, the mother approached the Bharosa cell of the crime branch, but the victim did not open up. After counselling by CWC and Muskan, she disclosed the incident but the Dattawadi police station did not take any cognizance of the case.
Finally, she approached the special sessions court and filed a complaint under sections 354 (assault or criminal force to woman) and 376 (rape) and along with relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The complainant said, "My daughter is not only suffering from anxiety and fear but also severe mental trauma and physical issues. I was shocked to see her behaviour. She wakes up in the middle of midnight and bites her nails to the point of bleeding and I have to take her to the doctor. She used to tell me that she did not want to go to a male doctor but only to a female doctor. The harassment did not stop here. When I went to the police with all written complaints and doctor's reports, they did not take cognizance of the case. Even after deputy commissioner Purnima Gaikwad directed to lodge the FIR, Dattawadi police did not help me."
"I thought the CWC and Muskan would help me, but during counselling, the counsellors suddenly brought her father in front of the camera. Because of this, she got traumatised and now refuses to meet anyone. There are clear reports from doctors to whom she narrated the incidences of sexual assault," she added.
Senior police inspector from Dattawadi police station, Ram Rajmane, said, "The incident was reported before I took charge of the police station. We will call all reports and investigate the matter in detail. Since it is a case of child sexual abuse, it should be handled by woman officers."
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