Janakpuri school rape case: Delhi Police urges High Court to cancel bail of accused

New Delhi: The city police on Monday urged the Delhi High Court to cancel the bail granted to a 57-year-old staff member accused of raping a three-year-old girl 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's plea challenging the trial court order which granted bail to him on May 7 in the case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Terming it a "gross case", Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju said the accused faces a minimum punishment of 20 years imprisonment for the offence, but the trial court granted him relief within a few days of his arrest, despite the survivor identifying him as the perpetrator.

"The 3-year old child has identified him.. Within seven days he was granted bail. This is gross case. This actually is a case of cancellation at the stage of notice," ASG Raju said.

The counsel for the complainant said they have also filed a petition against the bail order, which was likely to come up for hearing on Tuesday. The court listed the case for hearing on May 29 and sought the stand of the accused. The incident came to light on May 1 when the survivor's mother filed a complaint at Janakpuri police station, alleging that her daughter was sexually assaulted during school hours by the accused.

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According to the complaint, the child had gone to the school on April 30, the second day after her admission. After returning home, she complained of pain. When questioned by her mother, the girl said that she was taken to an isolated area in the school, where the man allegedly assaulted her. Based on the complaint by the child's mother, police registered a case under section 64(1) (punishment for rape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 6 (Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.

Section 6 mandates a minimum of 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, which can be extended to life imprisonment, or death penalty for the offence. Police said the child identified the accused, following which the school caretaker was arrested on May 1. He was later produced before a court and sent to judicial custody.

However, he was granted bail by a court in Dwaraka on May 7 despite strong opposition from the prosecution. A female teacher was also arrested by the police in connection with the matter.