Surat: 16-year-old boy convicted for rape of 5-year-old sister

The trial was conducted by the Juvenile Justice Board under chairman M S Soni, as the accused is a minor. The accused was brought from the children’s remand home, where he had been kept since his arrest on October 4, to the juvenile justice board when the order was pronounced.

The incident took place on September 29, 2018. The teenager returned home at 11 pm and was having dinner, as his parents and younger sister were asleep. At the time, his five-year-old sister woke up and told her mother that she need to relieve herself. The mother told the boy to take the child outside, as their house did not have a toilet. The boy took the girl outside, returned after sometime and continued having his dinner.

After some time, the girl came back to the house and started crying. She was bleeding from her genitals and she described to her mother what her brother did to her, police said. The mother allegedly slapped her son and told her daughter to go to sleep and not disclose anything to anybody about what happened. But later that night the child had severe pain, due to which her parents were forced to take her to New Civil Hospital for treatment, police said.

Doctors who examined her suspected that she had been raped. They began treating her and informed the police about the incident.

The mother then lodged a complaint with the police on September 30, but she claimed that a youth residing in her neighborhood had taken her daughter outside and raped her.

Police began investigating. They rounded up more than 10 youths and questioned them but could not find any leads. The condition of the child was critical and she could not reveal anything to the police as she was undergoing treatment in the hospital.

Police registered a case under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Juvenile Justice Act 2015. The cops began suspecting that one of the victim’s family members might have committed the crime. They cross-checked the statements of the victim’s elder brother, who was working at a textile factory and found that he was on night duty, while the father had come home heavily drunk. Police then questioned the teenaged brother who denied his involvement in the crime. The police were unsatisfied with his answer, and when they searched the house, they found his blood-stained clothes. On examining his undergarments, they found blood stains on them too. The cops seized the clothes from the house and apprehended the boy on October 4.

During interrogation, the minor confessed to his crime. He was then sent to the children’s remand home on October 5.

The State government appointed Special Public Prosecutor Nayan Sukhadwala to carry out a speedy trial in the case. Commissioner of Police Satish Sharma took permission from the state government to appoint Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police Riyaz Munshi as Special Officer to help the police with the case paperwork and to assist the police in the case trial.

The police collected all the scientific and medical evidence in the case and submitted a charge sheet of over 300 pages with the Juvenile Justice Board on November 1, listing 30 witnesses. The victim’s parents and eldest brother were also named witnesses in the case. The trial began November 7 and the verdict was delivered on Thursday evening.

On the basis of the scientific and medical evidence and the statements of the victim and other witnesses, the accused was found guilty. Special Public Prosecutor Sukhadwala said, “We are satisfied with the judgment as it is reformative, taking into account the age of the teenager who came into conflict with the law. The objective of the juvenile justice system, of care and protection of minors, has also been fulfilled. The victim got justice and the provision of reformation has also been fulfilled.”