HC refuses bail to Amboli resident who exploited minor girl over 9 years

Bombay HC denies bail to Amboli resident accused of sexually exploiting and raping minor girl for over 9 years, citing fresh wounds of victim.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday refused bail to an Amboli resident who allegedly sexually exploited and raped a minor girl in his neighbourhood for over nine years.

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“This is not at all a fit case to admit the applicant to bail. To do so would further aggravate and fester the wounds of the victim which are still fresh in her mind, body and soul,” said justice Prithviraj Chavan while rejecting bail plea of the Amboli resident.

The court also observed that, “looking to the nature and propensity of the applicant, likelihood of repeating similar offence cannot be ruled out. It is quite possible that in the event of his release (on bail), the applicant may threaten and coerce the victim and her parents.”

The accused was booked by the Amboli police on May 4, 2021, a day after the minor girl eloped with a man. While searching her belongings for a clue about her boyfriend, her father stumbled upon her personal diary in which she had narrated how their previous neighbour began sexually exploiting her in class 4, and how the ordeal continued for over nine years. The girl’s mother chose to keep mum even after she was informed about the matter as the building was full of close relatives of the accused, she wrote in the diary.

The accused was apprehended soon after the matter was reported to the police. After the special POCSO court rejected his bail plea on August 13, 2021, he moved the high court claiming he was innocent and was falsely implicated in the case over past disputes.