Mumbai: The special Prevention of Children Against Sexual Offences Act (POCSOA) court at Dindoshi has granted bail to a 38-year-old woman arrested in 2022 on alleged charges of child trafficking. This was the third bail application filed by the accused, which was finally allowed by the Sessions Court.
Court’s Observation
The court, in its order, observed: “Accused and co-accused were arrested in August 2022. The investigating machinery had filed the charge-sheet against the accused long back in the year 2022. Charges were framed against the accused in 2024, and since then, not a single witness has been examined by the prosecution. The accused have been behind bars for the last three years. On perusal of the charge-sheet, it prima facie seems that the accused had admitted the victim to a school in Kerala. As per the prosecution’s case, the victim stayed with the accused for 10 years. They took her admission in the school, and she continued her schooling there. On inquiry with the daughter of the accused, who was placed in Bal Bhavan, Children’s Home, Andheri, it appears that she, a 7-year-old girl, has not met her parents for the last three years. No doubt she is admitted in Bal Bhavan, which is taking care of her and extending protection to her. However, the warmth of the natural guardian cannot be denied to their own 7-year-old child. The accused is a woman and the mother of a 7-year-old daughter. She has been deprived of the company of her child as she has been behind bars for the last three years without trial. Considering the long incarceration, it would be just and proper to release the accused on bail on certain conditions” reads the order copy.
Legal Representation
Advocate Nitin Hajare represented the accused. According to the prosecution, the case was registered at D.N. Nagar Police Station, where the accused, a housewife, was booked under sections of the Indian Penal Code, including wrongful confinement and kidnapping, along with provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act.
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The prosecution’s case relates to a girl who went missing in 2013 at the age of seven and was traced in August 2022. It is alleged that the accused and a co-accused took the victim away, kept her in various locations over the years, and made her perform household work and babysitting duties.
