Delhi: 5-year jail to man for sexually assaulting minor girl

New Delhi: A 32-year-old man has been sent to jail for five years by a Delhi court for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl and threatening to kill her if she disclosed the incident to anyone.

Additional Sessions Judge Ashwani Kumar Sarpal, while awarding 5 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 10,000 on east Delhi resident Dashrath, held him guilty under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

"When the statement of victim and other witnesses is reliable, then delay in reporting the matter to police is not a serious issue. Otherwise also, this delay is only of two days which can be pardoned in the present facts and circumstances where the heinous offence was committed with a minor aged about eight years," the court said.

According to the complaint filed by the child's mother, on June 13, 2014, Dashrath grabbed the girl and tried to remove her clothes while she was playing on the terrace of her house.

It was also alleged in the complaint that the man threatened the child with a knife and warned of killing her if she disclosed the matter to anyone.

"It appears that victim could not tell about the incident even to her parents immediately due to fear of the accused. The threats were very apparent and had affected the victim badly because she started weeping loudly when her mother took her to the house of the accused after coming to know about the incident two days later," the court observed.

Dashrath, however, denied all the allegations and claimed innocence. He also told the court that he had some dispute with the maternal uncle of the child which had led to the filing of this case.

The court after considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the statements of the victim and the witnesses, sentenced him to five years in jail.