Man acquitted in sexual assault case after child says she wants to stay with father

The man was acquitted after his daughter told the court that she had made the allegations at the behest of her cousin.

A special POCSO court has acquitted a 35-year-old man who was accused of sexually assaulting his 11-year-old daughter. The man was acquitted after his daughter told the court that she had made the allegations at the behest of her cousin. The accused told the court that he was falsely implicated by the cousin as he had made remarks about her character. The alleged incident took place in August 2020 and the man was arrested in October. "The prosecution has failed to produce on record cogent and reliable evidence," the court said. The court observed that a child subjected to sexual violence would not insist on living with her father rather than her mother.