“Tantrik” arrested for sexually abusing a 12-year-old girl

NEW DELHI: A 12-year-old girl was allegedly sexually abused by a tantrik (occultist) in northwest Delhi's Kanjhawala area on the pretext of curing her ailing father, an official said on Wednesday. The accused, Mohd Sharif (52), has been arrested.

DCP (Rohini) Guriqbal Singh Sidhu said that on August 27, a PCR call was received at Kanjhawala police station regarding sexual abuse of a girl aged around 12, following which the local police reached JJ Colony Sawda where they spoke to the victim. “The victim said that the accused seduced her on the pretext of performing a 'tantra' to recover her father who was suffering from a chronic illness,” the DCP said.

According to the officer, the accused Sharif took the 12-year-old girl to a cemetery where he allegedly sexually abused her.

Based on a statement from the girl, the police have registered an FIR under Section 65(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at the Kanjhawala police station.

According to Section 65(2) of the BNS, anyone who rapes a woman below the age of twelve years shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than twenty years, extendable to life imprisonment, which means that the person shall remain incarcerated for the rest of his natural life. The Act also provides for the death penalty. Section 6 of the POCSO relates to aggravated sexual assault by penetration.

The DCP said the girl was medically examined at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital. “After the registration of the FIR, the police formed a team and searched for the accused Sharif, who was then arrested,” the officer said, adding that further investigation was underway.