On Thursday, the Jharkhand Police added the sections of the POCSO Act to the Ankita Singh murder case of Dumka. The girl was set on fire alive while she was asleep at 4 am in her home on August 23. The accused were identified as Shahrukh Hussain and Naeem alias Chotu were booked under the relevant sections of the IPC. Now, POCSO charges have been added to the case.
This is after the Jharkhand Child Welfare Committee took cognizance of the incident and revealed that Ankita who was studying in class 12 was a minor as per her birth documents and certificates. Earlier the Police had claimed that she was 19 years old when she died. However, the CWC brought out the deceased’s class 10 mark sheet which mentioned her date of birth as November 26, 2006.
Jharkhand: Child Welfare Committee (CWC) had recommended SP to add sections under POCSO Act in the matter. The Committee found out that the deceased was 15 years old & not 19 as mentioned by Police in her recorded statement
— ANI (@ANI) September 1, 2022
The CWC maintained that the girl was a minor when the incident happened. It demanded strict action against the accused and said that the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 would be applied to the case. The Dumka Police launched a further investigation to confirm that Ankita was 15 years old during the incident.
According to the reports, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act provides stringent punishment to those engaging in sexual crimes against children along with the death penalty in cases of aggravated sexual assault. Earlier, the National Commission for Women (NCW) chief had also taken cognizance of the event and had written to the Director General of Police (DGP) asking for a fair probe and time-bound investigation into the case.
To note, 15-year-old Ankita Singh, was a resident of Dumka and was burnt alive by two accused named Shahrukh and Naeem. The accused allegedly poured the inflammable fuel on her from the window of her bedroom when she was fast asleep. She was taken to the hospital shortly after the incident and on August 28, she succumbed to her burn injuries.
Days after Ankita’s death, videos of her last words went viral over social media where she could be heard demanding painful death for the accused who set her on fire. “He should die the way I am dying today,” the Dumka girl had said who breathed her last at 2.30 am on Sunday.
