21-year-old man booked for sodomising autistic boy in Assam

The accused has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) and the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 377 (unnatural offences) and 275 (use of a drug or medical preparation known to be adulterated)

A 21-year-old man has been booked in Assam’s Karimganj district for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old physically challenged autistic boy late on Saturday, police said on Tuesday.

Ratan Das, a local police officer, said it was a sensitive case and they were trying to arrest the accused. (Representative Photo)

In his complaint filed on Sunday, the boy’s father said his son was returning home from a mosque when Zahir Ahmed, the accused who is absconding, initially offered him some soft drink and later forcibly took him to a nearby forest area and assaulted him. When the boy returned home, he was terrified. “My son cannot talk but he showed me the injuries using sign language,” the father said. He added the boy was sodomised, had bite marks all over his body and was tortured.

The accused has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Indian Penal Code’s Sections 377 (unnatural offences) and 275 (use of a drug or medical preparation known to be adulterated).

Ratan Das, a local police officer, said they were trying to arrest the accused. “It is a sensitive issue... We do not want to disclose any details about the case... the accused will be arrested soon. We are investigating the matter.”

Police superintendent Padmanabh Baruah said Section 377 has been abolished only in case of consensual physical relationships between two same-sex persons. “...here the victim is minor, and it is a case of rape. The victim was tortured and terrorised...”