An eight-year-old boy was sexually assaulted allegedly by five minors in north Delhi who were apprehended and later released, police said on Tuesday.
The crime was committed in Narela on February 11 but a complaint was filed only on Sunday last week after the boy’s mother informed the police, officers said.
Deputy commissioner of police (outer north) Nidhin Valsan confirmed the incident but refrained from sharing details.
A police officer aware of the matter said that on Sunday, their control room received a call regarding “gang rape” of a minor boy. When police met the boy’s mother, she alleged that five boys, aged between 10 and 15 years, in their neighbourhood had sexually assaulted the boy. She also alleged that the boy sustained injuries in his genitals due to the assault, the officer said, asking not to be named.
The boy was sent for medical examination which confirmed the assault. A case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act was lodged, police said.
“The mother’s complaint was filed, and the boy was taken for a medical examination which confirmed the assault. Subsequently, a case under Section 6 of the Pocso Act was registered,” the officer said.
On Sunday itself, the accused were apprehended from the victim’s locality and sent to an observation home but were released the same day by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), police said.
Speaking to HT, the victim’s mother, a 40-year-old factory worker, said that on February 11, she and husband were at work while their four children – two boys aged 8 and 16 and two girls aged 12 and a 14 – were at home. On returning home, her eight-year-old appeared unwell and his clothes had blood stains. “But I didn’t expect that something like this could have happened. For the next three days, I nursed him at home. He didn’t tell me anything,” the mother said.
On February 15 (Saturday), the 12-year-old daughter told her mother that the brother had been sexually assaulted by five boys in the neighbourhood.
“She said that they were all playing when the boys took him to an adjacent room and assaulted him there. After the assault, one of the accused told the sister about what they did but threatened both my kids that they will kill my elder son if they informed anyone about the incident,” she alleged.
“I asked those five boys if they assaulted my son but they denied. I then approached police on Sunday. They questioned them after which they confessed,” she said.
The mother, however, said that she is scared as the boys were released and live right opposite their house. “How can they be released so easily and quickly? They are kids but they did something so heinous. I am scared for the safety of my child,” she said.
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