73-yr-old man gets 3-year jail term for molesting schoolgirls in 2016

A 73-year-old man in Mumbai has been sentenced to three years in prison for molesting minor girls. The accused was arrested after the girls followed him home and called the police. The man, who once worked as an actor, claimed he was falsely implicated in the case. The court, however, found him guilty based on the prompt reporting of the incident and the girls' testimony. The court showed leniency due to the man's old age and health conditions.

MUMBAI: A special court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) sentenced a 73-year-old man to three years imprisonment for molesting minor girls in April 2016. The accused, identified as Shashi Bajaj, who once worked as an actor, was arrested after the girls followed him to his house and called the police.

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According to the prosecution case, on April 5, 2016, at about 11.20am, some girls were waiting outside their school in the Four Bungalows area of Andheri after their examination got over for their autorickshaw and vans to pick them up.

At that time, Bajaj who was passing by the neighbourhood, touched a girl – the complainant in the case, who was studying in Class IX. Angered over his inappropriate gesture, she expressed her dismay. Bajaj, who was 66 years old then, said sorry and walked away. A friend of the girl, who was studying in Class VII, then told her that the “uncle” had done the same act with her earlier. He had touched her inappropriately and then said sorry and walked away.

Bajaj then returned again and touched the complainant inappropriately, said sorry and left. This time, an alert girl clicked his photo, and the girls decided to follow him to his house in SVP Nagar, which is in the Four Bungalows area, where one of the girls called 103, which is the children and women safety helpline.

A lady constable reached the spot within minutes and the parents and relatives of the girls arrived there. The girls narrated the incident to them and identified the accused, who was promptly arrested by the police. Bajaj was eventually released on bail on August 10, 2016.

In his defence, Bajaj claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case, as the victim’s father had a dispute with his son. However, the complainant, who testified before the court, denied the claim. Besides the denial, the court also took into consideration that the defence (Bajaj) could not bring any evidence nor did it examine his son to prove the dispute between the victim’s father and Bajaj’s son.

The court also said that the accused was arrested, and the case was registered against him in a very short span of time after the incident, which would eliminate the possibility of false implication. The court said the incident took place around 11:25 am, after which the girls followed him, which took around 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, they called the police, which reached the spot at around 12.30pm, apprehended him and the case was registered at 1.30pm.

“This promptness in reporting the offence and setting the law in motion, to my mind, clearly points towards the correctness of the allegations made in the FIR, as the creation of a false story involving not only the victim but also three of her friends, would have required much more time and manipulation,” said special judge SJ Ansari, while holding Bajaj guilty. The court accepted the prosecution case presented by public prosecutor SS Mahatekar and said that the accused touched the girls with sexual overtures.

The court further said that the girls were very scared when a stranger who was so senior touched them inappropriately. The special POCSO judge, however, showed some leniency to the senior man primarily in view of his old age and that he was suffering from diabetes. “The accused was 66 years old at the time at which he committed the offences and is now 73 years of age. Therefore, he was a senior citizen at the time of the incident. Undoubtedly, such a man should not have sexually harassed and assaulted the minor schoolgirls in question who were of the age of his grandchildren.”