A couple from Chennai, their 18-year-old son and a church pastor have been booked by the police for sexual assault of a minor girl. The police took action based on a complaint by the girl’s mother, who is reportedly a well-known playback singer from Hyderabad. She had filed a police complaint in Chennai alleging that her 15-year-old daughter was sexually abused by three men, including her brother-in-law, her nephew and pastor Henry of the Alliance Church in Chennai.
In her complaint, which was filed a few days ago with the City Police Commissioner, the singer alleged that the sexual abuse took place for a few years, when the girl was living with her aunt and family for around 6 years. She had returned to Hyderabad around 18 months ago.
The woman said that her sister’s husband and son, and the pastor sexually abused her daughter and the crime was covered up and abetted by her sister. According to the police complaint filed later at the All Women’s Police Station in Chennai, the child lived with her aunt from when she was 6 till she was 13 years old.
An FIR has been registered against the singer's brother-in-law, nephew, the pastor, as well as the singer’s sister, the police told TNM. While the sister has been booked for abetting the crime, the others have been booked under the POCSO Act. The FIR has been registered under Section 10 of the POCSO Act (Punishment for aggravated sexual assault) read with Section 9 (l) (whoever commits sexual assault on the child more than once or repeatedly), Section 9(m) (whoever commits sexual assault on a child below twelve years) and Section 9 (n) (sexual assault of minor by a relative) of the POCSO Act, and Section 17 (abetment) of the POCSO Act and Section 506(2) (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to the police, a couple of years ago, the girl had told her mother that the pastor of the church and her uncle touch her inappropriately. “At that time the mother told the child that close relatives will not do such harassment. However, the child has been living with the mother for around 18 months and this time the mother took the child’s complaint seriously and approached the police,” an investigating officer said.
Though the child was taken to a hospital for a medical check-up, the mother and the child did not agree to go ahead with the tests, the police officer said. “We cannot compel the child to undergo the test and will counsel. For now, the case is that they touched her inappropriately; for adding any other sections, we will need the child to undergo a medical test,” the officer added.
The Alliance Church, according to the police, wound up operations two years ago. “However, pastor Henry is visiting houses. He also has connections with another big organisation, we are making enquiries there too,” the officer said.
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