NEW DELHI: A 12-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Tantrik (occultist) in the city's Kanjhawala area on the pretext of curing her sick father, an official said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Mohd Sharif (52), was arrested by the police.
Sharing details, DCP (Rohini) Guriqbal Singh Sidhu said a PCR call regarding molestation of a girl child aged about 12 years was received at Kanjhawala police station on August 27, following which the local police immediately reached the spot (i.e., JJ Colony Sawda) where they met the victim.
"The victim stated that the accused allured her on the pretext of performing some "tantra" for recovery of her father who is suffering from chronic disease," the DCP said.
According to the officer, the accused Sharif took the 12-year-old girl child to a graveyard and allegedly raped her.
Accordingly, on the basis of a statement given by the girl, the police registered an FIR under section 65 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Kanjhawala police station.
As per section 65 (2) of the newly implemented BNS, anyone who commits rape on a woman under twelve years of age shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than twenty years, but which may extend to imprisonment for life, which shall mean imprisonment for the remainder of that person’s natural life, and with fine or with death.
POCSO section 6 refers to aggravated penetrative sexual assault.
The DCP said the girl child was medically examined at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital. "After registration of the FIR, the police formed a team and traced the accused Sharif who was then placed under arrest," the officer said, adding that further probe is still on.