Mumbai Crime: 12-year-old escaping stepmother raped at CST

A 12-year-old girl, trying to escape ill-treatment by her stepmother on Sunday, ended up in the emergency ward of a city hospital after she was raped on the railway premises on Monday. The child, who is still in shock, has been unable to coherently tell the police or the doctors anything concrete about the assault. On Tuesday, the police registered a case under section 376 (rape) and sections 3 and 4 of POCSO Act purely on the basis of a medical examination that confirmed rape.

The doctors said she is being administered painkillers and has a woman police constable with her round the clock. The police said a decision will be taken later on moving her to a children's home. They are in the process of recording the statement of the girl's father, who has been traced to the eastern suburbs.

Railway Police Commissioner Niket Kaushik confirmed that an offence had been registered and said, "Prima facie, she has narrated the incident to the medical officer, and on the basis of the medical findings, we have registered an appropriate case. After she is discharged from hospital, we will record her statement before the magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Also, CCTV footage is being checked to get some leads. We are hopeful that by then she will be able to tell us what happened."

PP Gosavi, senior inspector, CST railway police station, said, "The child is traumatised and is unable to tell us much. She first told us that a man abused her inside a local train near Dadar and then said the incident happened at CST. We registered a case only after the doctors confirmed sexual assault."

Gosavi said, "On Monday morning, the girl was spotted roaming around CST railway station by a Childline volunteer, who then brought her to us. She seemed shocked and unable to say anything, so we took her to the hospital, where she was examined."

The child's father, in his statement to the police, said he had two daughters from an earlier marriage and his first wife died a few years ago.

Last year, he married again and recently had a son. He did odd jobs to run the family.

The father told the police that the girl had run away from home twice earlier and would either be traced to the children's home or some neighbour would bring her back. This time, he was worried when she did not return for two days.

The doctor treating the child said, on condition of anonymity, "She is in terrible pain, but we have given her painkillers. We have also given the results of all the tests to the police, who will submit them to the Kalina Forensic Science Laboratory."

A senior police officer said once the child is discharged from hospital, she will be produced before the child welfare committee, who will decide her future.