NEW DELHI: A mother in the national capital is running from pillar to post, seeking justice for her five-year-old daughter, who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Class 12 student of the same city school, the son of a Kenyan diplomat posted in New Delhi. The minor is in Class 1, and the accused student is an adult, police said.
Despite the gravity of the crime, the alleged police inaction due to diplomatic immunity has left the survivor’s family struggling for accountability.
Sources told this newspaper that the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has sought the removal of diplomatic immunity for the accused from the Kenyan government. The waiver of immunity is a prerequisite for taking legal action against anyone enjoying such immunity.
According to the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the “immunity from jurisdiction of diplomatic agents and of persons enjoying immunity” can be waived by the sending state, in this case, Kenya. Under the Vienna convention, family members of a diplomatic agent who are part of his household and are not nationals of the receiving state enjoy the same privileges and immunities as the diplomatic agent.
“The accused has been rusticated by the school. I know that the MEA has asked the Kenyan embassy to revoke the accused father’s diplomatic immunity,” the survivor’s mother said told this newspaper on Tuesday.
The alleged incident took place last August and an FIR was lodged on September 18 under Section 75(2) (sexual harassment) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act in Greater Kailash police station.
The survivor’s father said, “The accused sexually abused my daughter twice in August last year. When she complained of discomfiture, we took her to a doctor. We also took a second opinion. Both confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted. We then went to the school. They called all students who travelled in the bus except the accused. We were told that he was on a field trip.”
The parents filed a police complaint on the basis of which a case under the POCSO Act was lodged. “My daughter was terrified to take the accused’s name initially. Later, she revealed the name of the accused, after which we went to the school and police,” the father said.
“After we completed all the formalities, the police assured us that the accused would be arrested soon. We got an update from the Child Welfare Committee on December 16 that the case for arrest has been moved by the IO to MEA for which we expected a reply by January 15. The latest update from the IO is that MEA has taken it up through legal channels and the case could take months to move as he’s a foreign citizen,” he added.
Despite repeated calls, messages and emails, the school did not respond till the time of going to press.
Only Kenya can lift immunity for action
The Ministry of External Affairs has sought the removal of diplomatic immunity for the accused from the Kenyan government, according to sources. The Vienna Convention extends diplomatic immunity to the family, and in this case, only Kenya can lift it.
Parents waiting for action since last year
A five-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a Class 12 student of a city school last August. The accused, son of a Kenyan diplomat, also studied in the same school before being rusticated. An FIR was lodged in Greater Kailash police station last September.