Delhi HC takes suo moto cognizance after 3-yr-old girl sexually assaulted in school
New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) The Delhi High Court has taken suo moto cognizance after learning about a reported sexual assault on a three-year-old girl by a school cleaner in South Delhi.
High court Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Saurabh Banerjee took note of the issue and scheduled the hearing for September 1, following an article published in the media earlier this month.
“Santosh Tripathi, learned counsel appearing on behalf of Government of NCT of Delhi (GNCTD), accepts notice on behalf of GNCTD including the Education Department. Let a status report be filed positively within two weeks from today in respect of action taken in the matter by the Delhi Police as well as by the Education Department, GNCTD,” the court said.
“Tripathi, while filing the status report, will mask the name of the girl child as well as the names of the parents of the girl child, and shall undertake all necessary measures to protect the identity and right to privacy of the girl child,” the court said in its order on August 8.
“He shall take care that the media acts in compliance with the statutory provisions as contained in Section 23 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act), 2012,” the court said.
According to police, on August 1, the minor girl was sexually assaulted by a cleaner in a toilet at a school in South Delhi.
The accused, identified as Arjun Kumar (33), was also arrested. Sharing the details, a senior police official had said that on August 1 at 11:46 a.m, a police control room (PCR) call was received at Hauz Khas police station regarding child abuse at a school near Chirag Delhi flyover, Panchsheel Enclave.
Upon reaching the spot, the police team met the girl child victim (3.5-year-old) along with her aunt.
“The girl specified the sexual abuse incident involving one servant, Arjun, who used to work in the male washroom at the school. Additionally, the girl told her mother that the ‘safaiwala uncle’ used to watch her when she went to the toilet and that he sexually assaulted her,” said the official
“Accordingly, a case under 376 (rape) and 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 6 POCSO Act has been registered, and Arjun, a resident of Shivam Enclave, Old Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh has been arrested and sent to judicial custody,” the official added.