Nine-year-old Suraj*, a cancer patient, was down with a viral infection when his mother took him to a doctor. During a routine check-up, the boy told the doctor that he had been sexually assaulted by a woman with whom they had been staying.
Based on a complaint by the boy's mother, the Kalady police in Rural Ernakulam have arrested 25-year-old Meena*, a resident of Kadappara near Malayatoor in Ernakulam district. The minor and his mother had reportedly met Meena at a railway station and the latter had offered to help them collect money for the boy's treatment.
“We don't know if these versions are true. The two women were good friends. They were living in Meena's house. We are only concerned about the sexual abuse,” a police officer who is part of the investigation told TNM.
Though Meena’s husband Raju* has said that the accusation by the boy and his mother had stemmed out of a financial transaction gone wrong between the two families, police sources say two medical reports have established the sexual abuse.
“The boy was subjected to a medical test in a government hospital in Thiruvananthapuram and then Kalady. The doctor’s statement says that he had been abused. We will investigate and establish if his statement that Meena was the one who abused him is true,” the officer said.
Based on a complaint filed by the boy's mother on January 12, a case has been filed against Meena on the following sections of POCSO Act: Section 7: Sexual assault, Section 8: Punishment for sexual assault, Section 9 (m): Aggravated sexual assault on a child below twelve years and Section 10: Punishment for aggravated sexual assault.
Incidentally, Meena, the accused in this case, was herself a victim of sexual assault case three years ago, the officer told TNM. The case is still under trial.
(*Names changed)