Man molested his minor kids, forced to eat matchstick heads, drink mosquito repellent liquid; gets life term

The two children stated that their father would sexually exploit them and also force them to drink tea laced with pain-relieving ointments

A 35-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Ghaziabad court on Friday for sexually assaulting his daughter, aged eight, and son, aged 10 years, three years ago.

The police filed the charge sheet on October 5, 2020 and the sentence was delivered on Friday. (Representative Image)

The prosecution said the two children told their aunt and grandfather about the sexual assault after which an FIR was registered on August 16, 2020, at the Modinagar police station.

Based on a complaint given by the grandfather, the Modinagar police registered an FIR under the Indian Penal Code sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison), 354 (molestation), 376ab (rape), 377 (unnatural offences), and 506 (criminal intimidation), besides under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

The police filed the charge sheet on October 5, 2020 and the sentence was delivered on Friday.

During the course of the trial, the prosecution produced 10 witnesses, including the two minor children, and also their grandfather. The two children in their chief examination stated that their father would sexually exploit them and also force them to drink tea laced with pain-relieving ointments, besides forcing them to eat the phosphorous coated heads of matchsticks and drink mosquito repellent liquid.

“The court on Friday sentenced him to life imprisonment imposed a penalty of ₹71,000 on him. The convict is a divorcee and was entrusted with custody of his two children. We produced a total of 10 witnesses and the testimonies of the victim boy and girl proved crucial in the case,” said Harish Kumar, special public prosecutor (Pocso).

Special judge Harshvardhan (Pocso) said, “The man was entrusted to take care of the two children after he and his wife got a divorce...but he faltered. He put a blot on father-daughter and father-son relationship...”

“The two children during the lockdown period told their aunt about the crime they faced at the hands of their father. Thereafter, their aunt spoke to their grandfather. The two children also narrated the entire exploitation to their grandfather. When he confronted the man (his son), he threatened him and also tried to assault him. Thereafter, a police complaint was given and an FIR was registered against the man and he has been lodged in jail since the FIR,” Kumar said.