Mumbai: In 3 of 4 recent POCSO cases, girl, accused were in relationship

The Mumbai police on Wednesday registered four cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. In three, the girl and the accused were known to each other and were in a relationship, according to the police.

The increasing number of POCSO cases has become a major concern for the police and lawyers, who are involved in these cases at the initial stage.

While the police say they have to go by the book once the matter is reported to them, lawyers state that the former hide important details of the case that suggest that the victim was aware of what she was doing, and in most cases, the accused are granted bail or acquitted when courts observe that the girl was aware of
her actions.

The four recent cases have been registered at the Kasturba Marg, Sion, Gorai, and Mahim police stations. In the first case, the girl was 15 years old, as per the FIR registered by the police. The teen's family learnt that she was pregnant after they took her to a doctor for a menstrual cycle-related problem. According to the FIR, the family took the girl to the police station and filed an FIR against a 21-year-old man with whom the minor was in a relationship. Accordingly, the police arrested the man. The accused lived in the same neighbourhood as the girl.

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The Sion police, meanwhile, arrested a 21-year-old man after a 17-year-old girl informed them that despite knowing she was a minor, the accused established a sexual relationship with her and took photographs of her in the nude. He had also allegedly stalked her on social media and threatened to share photographs of her in a bid to get her to continue having physical relations with him. It was later revealed that both parties were in a relationship.

In the Gorai case, the 21-year-old accused has been absconding ever since he was booked under the POCSO Act. The 17-year-old complainant had alleged that the accused had raped her in a hotel room after promising to marry her. In this case, as well, the police found that they were in a relationship.

In the last incident, a 53-year-old man was booked by the police under POCSO for allegedly exposing himself to a 12-year-old girl. According to the FIR, the girl had taken a photograph of the accused's car. He then went to her house in a towel and said that he would pose for her if she wanted to take a photograph, and then removed his towel. The family approached the court and based on the court's order, the police registered an FIR. The accused is currently absconding.

‘Exercising caution'

"In the case of POCSO, we have to be very cautious, and our first priority is to address the victim, register the case, and arrest the accused. Everything is being done as per the law," a senior police officer said on condition of anonymity. Advocate Sunil Pandey, who had been handling such cases, said, "In the majority of POCSO cases I have handled, it was revealed that the victim and men were known to each other, which becomes very important because it shows that the minor knew what she was doing, and this has become grounds for getting bail and, in fact, getting acquittal in some cases."

"The police try to hide the fact that the accused and victim know each other to obtain a conviction, and they ignore the chats and messages exchanged between the accused and the victim. It was also found in most cases that families get these cases registered due to personal grudges," Pandey added.

Facts and figures

As per a report by the organisation Praja Foundation published in October 2022, in 100 per cent of cases of POCSO registered in Mumbai, the minor and the accused knew each other and in 54 per cent of cases, the accused were lovers, friends or social media friends. The report has also mentioned that till 2021, around 93 per cent of POCSO cases were pending trial and only in 35 per cent case of cases, the accused were convicted.