Mumbai: After sexual assault on boy by help, woman names husband

MUMBAI: A woman living in Malabar Hill recently approached the police to register a complaint of sexual assault carried out on her four-and-a-half-year-old son by a domestic help. Along with the domestic help, however, she has also named her husband and her parents-in-law as accused after they allegedly disbelieved her and allowed the help to continue working in their house.Malabar Hill police have registered an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012 against all accused.
Sources said the four-and-a-half-year-old boy's mother, who is a lawyer, caught the domestic help inappropriately touching her son last week. "Initially she had doubts but that day, after she caught the servant sexually assaulting her son, she took her son into confidence and inquired. The child is believed to have narrated his ordeal, after which she brought this to the light of her husband as well as her parents-in-law who stay with them," sources said.
However, instead of taking drastic action like lodging a complaint against the help, the husband and his parents disbelieved it. They also allowed the domestic help to continue working in the house, after which the woman decided to lodge a complaint.
On June 4, she approached police and lodged her complaint. A police officer confirmed a case has been registered against four persons including the boy's father and grandparents. Police on Monday also recorded the statement of the woman's son, under Section 164 of CrPC, before a magistrate. Senior inspector of Malabar Hill police Vinod Kamble confirmed a complaint had been filed but refused to divulge any details.
An expert said under the Pocso Act, it is mandatory to report commission of an offence and record the complaint, and failure to do so would make a person liable for punishment of imprisonment for six months and/or fine.
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