तीन वर्षिय नाबालिकाको बलात्कार... आरोपी पक्राऊ .....Three year old child raped... accused arrested

Photo: Janpath Samachar

डी के वाइबा, कालिमन्युज, कालेबुङ 19 अप्रेल 2014। शुक्रबार राती टिस्टामा एक 3 वर्षिय नाबालिकामाथि भएको दुष्कर्मको मुख्य आरोपी सुनिल राई (35)लाई कालेबुङको हाटबजारबाट पक्राऊ गरिएको छ। घटनाको बिरोधमा आज बिहानैदेखि टिस्टा क्षेत्र तनावपूर्ण रहेको थियो। मुख्य आरोपी लापत्ता भएको घटनालाई केन्द्र गरेर पुलिस प्रशासन प्रति क्षेत्रका बासिन्दाहरु आक्रोशित बनेका थिए भने घटनाको बिरोधमा सम्पूर्ण बजार आज बिहानदेखि नै बन्द रहेको थियो।

आरोपीलाई पक्राऊको माग गर्दै क्षेत्रवासीले आज टिस्टा थाना घेराऊ गरेको थियो भने राष्ट्रिय राजमार्ग 31ए लगभग आधा घण्टाको निम्ति बन्द समेत गरेको थियो। आरोपी सुनिल राईलाई पक्राऊको माग लिएर टिस्टावासीले शुक्रबार राती देखी नै प्रशासनलाई दबाव बनाएर राखेको थियो भने रातभरी क्षेत्रवासीले पुलिसको साथमा आरोपीको तलास अभियान पनि तिब्र अघि बडाईरहेको थियो। यस्तो अवस्थामा टिस्टाबाट फरार भएका आरोपी सुनिल राई आज कालेबुङ शहरमा देखा परेको खबर पाए पछि क्षेत्रका युवाहरु कालेबुङ शहरमा आरोपीलाई खोज्न आएका थिए भने पुलिसले पनि सक्रियता अप्नाएको थियो।

आखिरमा पुलिसले छापा मारी अभियान चलाएर आरोपी सुनिल राईलाई यहाँक़ो हाटबजार परिसरबाट पक्राऊ गर्‍यो। आरोपी राईलाई पक्राऊ गरेको खबर फैलिन साथै टिस्टाका मानिसहरु कालेबुङ थानामा व्यापक रुपले भेला भएका थिए। यस समय कालेबुङ थानामा भेला भएका आक्रोशित जनतालाई सीआरपीका जवानहरुले रोक्ने प्रयास गर्दा तनाव सृजना भएको थियो। थाना परिसरमा आक्रोशित जनता अनि सीरपीका जवानहरु माझ रोक्ने प्रयासमा तनाव सृजना भए पछि आखिरमा पुलिस प्रशासनले आक्रोशित जनतालाई शान्त पार्ने कार्य गर्‍यो। यस समय थाना परिसरमा भेला भएका आक्रोशित जनताले आरोपी सुनिल राईलाई जनताको अघि समर्पण गर्न पर्ने माग गरिरहेका थिए।

लगभग दुईघण्टा सम्म थाना परिसरमा व्यापक तनाव सृजना भए पछि आखिरमा आरोपीलाई सीआरपी अनि पुलिसको कडा सुरक्षाबिच कालेबुङ अस्पतालमा स्वास्थ्य जाँचको निम्ति लगियो। यस अवधी कालेबुङ अस्पतालमा अघिबाटै उपचारधिन अवस्थामा रहेकी नाबलिकालाई उपचार गरिरहेका स्वास्थ्यकर्मीहरुले पनि आरोपी राईप्रति आफ्नो आक्रोश देखाए।

यता अस्पताल कर्तृपक्षले पिडीत नाबलिकाको स्वास्थ्य जाँचमा बलात्कार भएको पुष्टि गरेको छ। कालेबुङ महकुमा अस्पतालका एसडीएमओ सोनाम भोटीयाले बलात्कारको पुष्टि गर्दै अहिले पिडीत नाबालिका खतरादेखि बाहिर भएको बताएका छन।

यता उक्त घटनामा संलग्न आरोपी सुनिल राईलाई भाग्नमा सहयोग गर्ने टिस्टा बासिन्दा प्रबल प्रधान अनि शम्भु सुब्बालाई शुक्रबार राती नै पक्राऊ गरिएको छ। उनीहरु दुवैलाई आज यहाँको न्यायालयमा पेश गरियो। पुलिसले आज पक्राऊ गरेको आरोपी सुनिल राईलाई भारतीय दण्ड सन्हिताको धारा ३६७ (डी) एवं पोक्सो कानूनको धारा ४ अन्तर्गत (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012) मुद्दा दर्ता गरेको छ। आरोपी राईलाई भोली यहाँको न्यायालयमा पेश गरिनेछ। उक्त घटनाको जाँच गर्न अनि पिडीत पक्षलाई यथाशिघ्र न्याय दिलाउँन २५ सदस्य समितिको गठन गरिएको छ भने उक्त समितिले कालेबुङ थानाका प्रभारी अचिन्त गुप्तालाई ज्ञापन पत्र चडाएर यथाशिघ्र जाँच गर्नुपर्ने माग गरेको छ। अर्कोतर्फ उक्त घटनाको बिरोधमा भोलि टिस्टा क्षेत्रमा क्षेत्रवासीले 3 बजे प्रतिवाद जुलुस निकाल्ने भएको छ।

POCSO ACT

India is home to the largest child population in the world, with almost 42 per cent of the total population under eighteen years of age. Needless to say, the health and security of the country’s children is integral to any vision for its progress and development.

One of the issues marring this vision for the country’s future generations is the evil of child sexual abuse. Statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau reveal that there has been a steady increase in sexual crimes against children. According to a study conducted by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in 2007, over half of the children surveyed reported having faced some form of sexual abuse, with their suffering exacerbated by the lack of specific legislation to provide remedies for these crimes. While rape is considered a serious offence under the Indian Penal Code, the law was deficient in recognising and punishing other sexual offences, such as sexual harassment, stalking, and child pornography, for which prosecutors had to rely on imprecise provisions such as “outraging the modesty of a woman”. The Ministry of Women and Child Development, recognising that the problem of child sexual abuse needs to be addressed through less ambiguous and more stringent legal provisions, championed the introduction of a specific law to address this offence. The POCSO Act was therefore formulated in order to effectively address the heinous crimes of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 received the President’s assent on 19th June 2012 and was notified in the Gazette of India on 20th June, 2012. The Act is due to come into force shortly, along with the rules being framed under the Act.

The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age, and regards the best interests and well being of the child as being of paramount importance at every stage, to ensure the healthy physical, emotional, intellectual and social development of the child. It defines different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography, and deems a sexual assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a position of trust or authority vis-a-vis the child, like a family member, police officer, teacher, or doctor. People who traffick children for sexual purposes are also punishable under the provisions relating to abetment in the Act. The Act prescribes stringent punishment graded as per the gravity of the offence, with a maximum term of rigorous imprisonment for life, and fine.

In keeping with the best international child protection standards, the Act also provides for mandatory reporting of sexual offences. This casts a legal duty upon a person who has knowledge that a child has been sexually abused to report the offence; if he fails to do so, he may be punished with six months’ imprisonment and/ or a fine. Thus, a teacher who is aware that one of her students has been sexually abused by a colleague is legally obliged to bring the matter to the attention of the authorities. The Act, on the other hand, also prescribes punishment for a person, if he provides false information with the intention to defame any person, including the child.

The Act also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the investigative process. Thus, the police personnel receiving a report of sexual abuse of a child are given the responsibility of making urgent arrangements for the care and protection of the child, such as obtaining emergency medical treatment for the child and placing the child in a shelter home, should the need arise. The police are also required to bring the matter to the attention of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) within 24 hours of receiving the report, so the CWC may then proceed where required to make further arrangements for the safety and security of the child.

The Act also makes provisions for the medical examination of the child designed to cause as little distress as possible. The examination is to be carried out in the presence of the parent or other person whom the child trusts, and in the case of a female child, by a female doctor.

The Act further makes provisions for avoiding the re-victimisation of the child at the hands of the judicial system. It provides for special courts that conduct the trial in-camera and without revealing the identity of the child, in a manner that is as child-friendly as possible. Hence, the child may have a parent or other trusted person present at the time of testifying and can call for assistance from an interpreter, special educator, or other professional while giving evidence; further, the child is not to be called repeatedly to testify in court and may testify through video-link rather than in the intimidating environs of a courtroom. Above all, the Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.

Another important provision in the Act is that it provides for the Special Court to determine the amount of compensation to be paid to a child who has been sexually abused, so that this money can then be used for the child’s medical treatment and rehabilitation.

The Act is a welcome piece of legislation, in that it recognises almost every known form of sexual abuse against children as punishable offences, leaving little room for ambiguity in its interpretation. Further, by providing for a child-friendly judicial process, the Act encourages children who have been victims of sexual abuse to bring their offender to book and seek redress for their suffering, as well as to obtain assistance in overcoming their trauma. It makes the different agencies of the State, such as the police, judiciary and child protection machinery, collaborators in securing justice for a sexually abused child; working together, they can ensure that the child is given an opportunity to obtain justice for the harm suffered, and begin the process of rebuilding the child’s life and future.

For further reading     http://rcpds.org/doc/POCSO.pdf