POCSO court hails IO for deft handling of sexual assault case

Convicting a man for the sexual assault of a minor girl, a POCSO court here lauded the role of the investigating officer for arresting the accused with alacrity and prompt completion of the probe.

Judge Jimut Bahan Biswas, additional sessions judge at Sealdah Court and special judge under POCSO Act, sentenced the accused to five years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 for aggravated sexual assault of a seven year-old girl.

The incident occurred on October 5, when Sumit Biswas, who was known to the family of the victim, entered their residence around 11 am on the pretext of replacing a light.

Grievously hurt and under shock, the minor later narrated the incident to her parents, following which her father lodged a complaint with the Beliaghata police station in the eastern part of the city.

The investigation was entrusted with Santabrata Chatterjee, a sergeant attached to the police station.

Following completion of investigation, charge was framed against Biswas on November 1 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act, 2012.

During the trial, Biswas denied the charge and claimed that he was falsely implicated.

However, the prosecution was able to prove the offence before the court with witness accounts and corroborative evidence, special public prosecutor Vivek Sharma said.

The judge awarded Biswas a sentence of five years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20,000 on Tuesday.

The court also directed the West Bengal government to pay a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the victim, as per provisions of the POCSO Act.

The judge also told the state government to send a copy of the order to the Joint Commissioner (Crime) of Kolkata Police, for taking note of the good investigation done in the case.

Chatterjee's sincere endeavour and dedication towards the completion of investigation within a short span of time were hailed in the order.