The police on Monday urged the Delhi High Court to cancel the bail granted by a lower court to a 57-year-old staff member accused of raping a three-year-old nursery student inside a private school in west Delhi’s Janakpuri earlier this month.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee issued notice to the accused, Lalit Kumar, on the police plea challenging the trial court order granting him bail on May 7 in the case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Terming it a “gross case”, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said the accused faces a minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment for the offence, yet the trial court granted him bail within days of his arrest despite the survivor identifying him as the perpetrator.
“The three-year-old child has identified him. Within seven days he was granted bail. This is a gross case. This actually is a case of cancellation at the stage of notice,” Raju told the court.
Counsel for the complainant said a separate petition challenging the bail order had also been filed and was likely to come up for hearing on Tuesday.
The court listed the matter for hearing on May 29 and sought the accused’s response.
The case came to light after the child’s mother lodged a complaint with police, following which an investigation was initiated.
The mother alleged her three-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted during school hours by an unidentified male staff member at the school. The accused was arrested after being identified by the victim.
Based on the complaint, police registered a case under Section 64(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 6 of the POCSO Act at Janakpuri police station.
During the investigation, the accused was arrested on the same day after identification by the victim. The victim’s statement under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was recorded before the court, while CCTV and DVR footage, along with other exhibits, were seized in accordance with the law.
“The investigation has been conducted in a fair, professional and impartial manner on the basis of scientific evidence, forensic examination, witnesses’ statements and merits of the case,” an official said.
