PUNE: A nine-year-old boy was detained by the Kondhwa police on Tuesday on the charge of sexually assaulting a three-year-old girl on Dec 15.
The police produced the boy before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), which ordered his bail and directed that his custody be handed over to the parents.
The girl is a pre-school student, while the boy is a Class III student of a local school. The families are known to each other since they reside in the same locality, police said.
Police sub-inspector Snehal Jadhav on Tuesday said, “The girl used to call the boy dada (elder brother), who allegedly sexually assaulted her when he found her alone at a place near their residence. She told her mother about it.”
Jadhav said the survivor’s mother reported the matter to the police and an FIR relating to sexual harassment and assault was registered against the minor under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
“The girl was taken into confidence in the presence of an NGO representative working for child rights. She gave detailed information about the incident. After the boy was detained, he told us he was influenced by social media and committed the act,” Jadhav added.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
