Improbable that senior citizen flashed teen in public view: POCSO court

Acquitting Anil Gulgule of the offences under POCSO and section 354 (assault or criminal force to outrage the modesty of the woman) of the Indian Penal Code, the court observed that the alleged incident took place in 2016 on a road with sufficient visibility and the presence of many other people

MUMBAI: A 72-year-old man charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, for allegedly flashing a teenager, was acquitted by a special POCSO court in Thane on Tuesday observing that it seemed unlikely that a senior citizen would commit such an act in public view.

Improbable that senior citizen flashed teen in public view: POCSO court. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Acquitting Anil Gulgule of the offences under POCSO and section 354 (assault or criminal force to outrage the modesty of the woman) of the Indian Penal Code, the court observed that the alleged incident took place in 2016 on a road with sufficient visibility and the presence of many other people.

The court said: “It would be rather difficult to conclude that an elderly person, aged approximately 72, would commit such an act when there was a high probability of getting noticed by other passersby.”

The Thane police had registered an FIR at the Chitalsar police station after a 13-year-old girl claimed that on October 27, 2016, at around 7 pm, her aunt sent her to buy groceries when, while she was walking on the road, Gulgule walked on the same road looking at her, talking on the phone and unzipping his pants with his other hand and exposed his genitals to the girl.

According to the police, the girl called out to her neighbour who was passing by after which Gulgule allegedly tried to run but was held by some people and subsequently taken to the police station. The girl also told the police that the elderly man was earlier seen on the road in August 2016, at least twice or thrice a week, smiling at children and repeatedly touching his fly.

Gulgule, represented by advocate Swapana Kode, denied the charges. In his statement before the magistrate, he claimed that he was “an elderly and fragile person”. He said that the victim “might have thought that he was chasing her” but contended that he did not have enough strength to do that.

Special judge Ruby U Malvankar observed that the girl had accused the man of habitually committing obscene acts while looking at children. The court noted that the accused had allegedly “become bolder as time passed, eventually daring to exhibit his private parts to the victim when she was alone on her way to a shop”.

Therefore, the prosecution could have established the accused’s tendencies by examining the other children who had seen the man and also the woman, who the girl called out to for help, the court said. However, the prosecution did not examine these witnesses.

The court also said that Gulgule, who was released on bail while the trial was pending, deserved to be acquitted as “the facts required proof through additional witnesses, a strength that is lacking in this case”.