Teen gathers courage, says father raped her

MUMBAI: The city police’s initiative, ‘Police Didi’, to reach out to sexually abused children has started yielding results.

A 16-year-old girl, a Class 10 student, mustered courage and told the police on Saturday that her father had raped her four times in her house in the past three months. Her 43-year-old father was then arrested.

The arrest was made possible after sub-inspector Yasmin Mulla and her colleagues from Agripada police station held a session, under the ‘Didi’ campaign’, at the teenager’s school on July 16.

The policewomen built a good rapport with students and got them talking about their problems, doubts and fears in a trice.

“The children were told about ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’ in a friendly atmosphere and were also encouraged to express their problems to their close ones,” said senior inspector Sawalaram Agawane of Agripada police station.

During the session, students were told their legal rights and options if they are sexually abused by a known person, said

sub-inspector Yasmin Mulla.

According to the 16-year-old girl’s teachers, she is among the brightest students in her class. She lives with her three younger brothers, parents and grandmother.

The incident came to light after teachers observed that the girl was stressed. When one of the teachers confronted her, she did not reveal anything out of fear. Her mother was called to school by senior teachers, but her mother too told them that everything was alright.

When a teacher asked her to recall the ‘police didi’ session, the penny dropped. She revealed to her teachers that she was raped by her father, said a police officer.

The school authorities called NGO Vidhayak Bharti and policemen from Agripada to counsel the girl.

After her medical examination, a first information report (FIR) under stringent sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was registered.

“The girl told us that when her mother would be out for work and brothers in school, her father would ask her grandmother to go out of the house for some time. Besides sexual abuse, he would beat her up and threaten to kill her if she told anyone about it,” said assistant inspector Ratna Khandelwal of Agripada police station.

The girl has been sent to Dongri shelter home and her father to police custody.

The kids were told about ‘good touch’ and ‘bad touch’ in a friendly atmosphere and were also encouraged to express their problems to their close ones. SAWALARAM AGAWANE, senior inspector, Agripada police station.