Four and-a-half year-old boy booked for alleged sexual assault

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Illustration by Anthony Lawrence

A startling case of alleged sexual assault came to light when an FIR was registered against four-and-a-half-year-old boy for sexually assaulting his classmate of the same age.

The unbelievable incident happened in a school based in Dwarka, New Delhi. According to the statement by girl’s mother, the girl complained of pain in her abdomen after returning from school on Friday (November 22).

The girl began crying and apprised her mother about the incident. The boy opened her pants in the classroom and used his finger to assault her, the statement said.

“She tried to push him but to no avail as there were no other children in the classroom and there was no staff around,” the statement stated.

A police official dealing with the case was quoted as saying: “This is likely to be the youngest to have been booked under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC and also under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.”

The Police have filed a case but are mulling the next step as to how to tackle it sensitively because of the suspect’s age.

Dependra Pathak, Delhi Police’s chief spokesperson told Hindustan Times: “The Indian Penal Code (IPC) provides children below seven years of age certain protections against prosecutions. We are examining those provisions even as we are handling the matter with utmost sensitivity.”

—India Legal Bureau