In a horrifying case reported from the state of Maharashtra, the Vasai Police in Mumbai has registered an FIR against Pramod Joginder Sahu, a man reportedly belonging to the Christian community, for allegedly raping his minor daughter (15). The Police have also booked Pramod’s younger brother, Gauri Shankar Sahu, for sexually assaulting the girl, who has now been shifted to the child care centre of the city.
The case has been registered under sections 376, 376 (2) (n), 376 DA, 376 (3), and 506 of the IPC and sections 4, 6, 8, and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
According to the FIR copy obtained by OpIndia, the sexual abuse of the girl started on November 1 of this year, but the case was registered on November 27 as the girl had been forcefully taken by the father to their native home in Bihar after the assault. The primary accused in the case, Pramod Joginder Sahu (48), is a resident of Nalasopara, Vasai, and the second accused named in the case named, Gauri Shankar Sahu (44), is a resident of Kandivali, Mumbai.
The complaint was filed by the minor girl at Vasai Police Station in which she mentioned that she was brutally raped by her father and her uncle several times. She said that she lived with her four brothers, her father (accused), and her stepmother and the incident happened when she was all alone at her home with her father.
The victim said that her uncle Gauri Shankar Sahu from Kandiwali had arrived at her place post-Diwali and sexually assaulted her in the presence of her father. “Nobody was there at home. My stepmother had gone out for some work, my elder brother had gone to the jeans manufacturing company where he works, and my younger brothers had gone out to play. I took shower and as I came out of the bathroom, my father who was sitting in the drawing room grabbed me and forced me onto the floor in the kitchen. He then raped me. Later my Uncle who was sitting in the drawing room arrived and brutally assaulted me,” the girl said.
According to the FIR, both the accused threatened the girl and asked her to keep her mouth shut. They told her that they would kill her brothers if she reported the incident to anyone in the family. “I was scared, so I decided to keep quiet. My uncle left, but my father continued to rape me. He also sexually assaulted me after the Chhat Puja day,” the girl added.
The accused, as per the FIR, then took the girl to his sister in Thane (the girl’s maternal aunt) where she managed to tell her aunt the truth. “I told my aunt that I was being sexually abused. But she also asked me to keep my mouth shut and let no one know about the crime. She clicked some photographs of mine, and requested me to stay quiet,” the girl narrated. She added that she was raped at her aunt’s place as well by her father and uncle who executed the crime in her aunt’s absence.
The accused then happened to take the girl to their native home in Darbhanga to restrict her from narrating the incident to anybody in the family. He prohibited her from stepping out of the house and talking to anyone. The girl somehow managed to escape from the spot on November 24 and contacted her elder brother who works in a jeans manufacturing factory in Vasai. He assisted her and helped her reach Thane Station in Maharashtra. He also gave her the child life helpline number (1098) and asked her to go home to Nalasopara.
The accused was reportedly involved in another child abuse case in 2015
Some members of the Child Life Center arrived at Sahu’s home in Nalasopara and took her to the Child Care Center in Palghar. At present, the victim girl is at the Child Care Center and is being taken proper care of. According to the sources, the accused belongs to the Christian community and was also booked in the year 2015 in a child abuse case. Sahu is accused of sexually assaulting two minor boys following which a complaint was filed against him. The accused then filed a countercase alleging that the victim’s parents had thrashed him and vandalised his residence. He also alleged that the photographs of Jesus Christ placed at his home had been torn apart by the parents of the two boys. The case (State of Maharashtra vs Indrajeet Tiwari, Umakant Surendrakumar Tiwari, 64/2015), as per the sources, is still pending at the Vasai Court.
The sources further stated that the accused had persuaded around 1,500 people from Vasai to change their religion and accept Christianity as their new religion. However, OpIndia cannot independently verify the claim. The police in the current case have registered an FIR but have not yet arrested the accused Pramod Sahu and his brother Gauri Shankar Sahu.
The Legal Rights Observatory took cognizance of the incident and alleged that a lady police officer API Manisha Patil at Vasai Police Station tortured the victim and her brother and asked them to withdraw the complaint. The elder brother and the stepmother of the victim have also been restricted by the Police from meeting the victim who is in the Child Care Center at present.
POCSO accused Pastor P J Sahu repeatedly raped own daughter n impregnated her; victim approached Mira Bhayender Police but lady officer kept her waiting whole night n threatened her to withdraw complaint; We urge @NCPCR_ @DGPMaharashtra to immediately intervene as he is criminal pic.twitter.com/sezqhCuCAI
— Legal Rights Observatory- LRO (@LegalLro) December 2, 2022
NCPCR takes cognisance of the case, Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo says action is being taken
Priyank Kanoongo, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), took cognisance of the matter and took to Twitter to share details of the case.
“In Meera Bhayandar, Maharashtra, it has been reported that the victim, who went to a police station to report sexual abuse against a pastor, was kept in the police station overnight and the procedures of JJ, POCSO Act were not followed. Necessary action is being taken by @NCPCR_ @Dev_Fadnavis @DGPMaharashtra,” he tweeted.
महाराष्ट्र के मीरा भयंदर में एक पास्टर के विरुद्द यौन शोषण की रिपोर्ट करने पहुँची पीड़ित बच्ची को रात भर थाने में बिठाए जाने एवं जेजे,पोकसो ऐक्ट की प्रक्रियाओं का पालन न किए जाने की सूचना मिली है।@NCPCR_ द्वारा आवश्यक कार्यवाही की जा रही है।@Dev_Fadnavis @DGPMaharashtra
— प्रियंक कानूनगो Priyank Kanoongo (@KanoongoPriyank) December 3, 2022
OpIndia meanwhile established contact with API Manisha Patil of Vasai Police Station who refused to reveal any information about the case. “This is a POCSO case. No information can be given out right now. The case has been registered and the investigations are underway,” she said.
