This story is from June 15, 2019

Mumbai: Man accused of sexually abusing boy jumps off court building, dies

Mumbai: Man accused of sexually abusing boy jumps off court building, dies
Representative image.
Mumbai: A 25-year-old man, accused of child sexual abuse, committed suicide by jumping off the sixth floor of the Dindoshi sessions court on Saturday.
Vikas Pawar had been brought to the court for a hearing. He had been arrested by the Powai police in 2015, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, for abusing a six-year-old schoolboy. Pawar has been in judicial custody since then.
On Saturday, police escorts brought Pawar from the Arthur Road prison to courtroom no.
12 at Dindoshi sessions court for the hearing. "The child victim appeared before court on Saturday. He narrated the entire incident and pointed out to Pawar when asked to identify the perpetrator. The judge then gave a date for the next hearing," said Pawar's lawyer, Sunanda Nandewar. After emerging from the courtroom, Pawar told the police escort that he wanted to drink water. Around 3pm, he entered an area on the sixth floor where drinking water is available. The police escort had held on to his hand. But Pawar pulled out his hand from the escort's grip and rushed over to the balcony, leaping outside. He died on the spot. Witnesses said a large pool of blood formed on the ground where he landed. He was later taken to a hospital and the body was sent for an autopsy.
"Pawar did not speak to anyone on Satruday," Nandewar added. Pawar used to live in Ghatkopar with his mother. He was employed in a school at Powai, where the sexual abuse case was reported on December 9, 2015. According to the police, Pawar was captured on CCTVs outside the toilet. Later, when the victim's mother came to fetch him from school, she found that he hadnt eaten his tiffin. She asked him why. The child narrated that he had been sexually abused in the toilet. The woman informed her husband and they approached the school management before registering a police complaint. Pawar was arrested the same night. In 2016, he had applied to the court for bail but the judge rejected his application.
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About the Author
Nitasha Natu

Nitasha Natu is a Senior Assistant Editor with the Times of India and writes on gender, human rights, road safety and law enforcement. She has received the Laadli Media & Advertising Award for Gender Sensitivity in 2021. She tweets @nnatuTOI

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