Police rule out sexual abuse in Muvattupuzha case

The Muvattupuzha police probing a case in which a four-and-a-half-year-old Assamese girl was found with suspicious injuries seem to have ruled out the probability of sexual abuse as was being accused

The Muvattupuzha police probing a case in which a four-and-a-half-year-old Assamese girl was found with suspicious injuries seem to have ruled out the probability of sexual abuse as was being accused by certain quarters. The police had initially registered a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act after the doctor treating the child flagged that the kind of injury found on her backside could also have been caused by sexual abuse among other things. “However, since then we have counselled the child with the help of a counsellor from the Childline proficient in Assamese. The girl said that she had a fall from the window when her younger sister pulled her frock from behind. According to her, she fell on a vertically split children’s cycle on the floor injuring her back. She, however, hid it from her parents for fear of getting a thrashing. Subsequently, the injury got infected leading to severe complications,” said a senior police officer associated with the probe. He said that steps would be taken to change the POCSO sections invoked in the case in the wake of the child’s statement.