New Delhi: Two hearing and speech-impaired men, who had been facing trial for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl, were convicted by a Delhi court, which noted that the accused had conspired to kidnap and sexually assault the minor.
The court said that the prosecution had successfully proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. The court will pronounce the quantum of sentence next month.
“The victim was a minor girl who was unable to protect herself from the clutches of the accused,” the court noted.
According to the prosecution, in 2012, the girl along with her family had gone to meet her maternal uncle. A day after, she went missing while playing outside the house.
Her maternal uncle, Abdul Gaffar, searched for her and found the girl with a man who ran away after spotting the girl’s family. The severely traumatised girl told her family that she was beaten and raped by the accused. The police recorded the statement of the girl and lodged a case.
The accused was arrested and following a tip-off, the second accused was also nabbed by the police.
The accused, while recording their statement, said that they were innocent. The counsel, appearing for the accused, had contended that there was no public witness and his clients were innocent. However, the court rejected his argument.
The court added that the victim has already suffered a lot of trauma at the hand of the accused. Even if the victim had not complained to anyone when she was brought back to her house, it could not be said that she was lying. The court relied on the girl’s testimony while holding the accused guilty.
