Maharashtra elections 2019: Independent candidate booked for raping 13-year-old girl

Mumbai, Oct 14: At a time when former BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar is an accused in the Unnao gangrape of a minor, in which the victim and her lawyer later also suffered grievous injuries in a road accident, yet another Independent candidate, Mohammed Siraj Shaik, from Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar constituency for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections 2019 have been booked on the charges of rape by the Mumbai police.

The case has been registered at the Govandi police station under the stringent charges of protection of children from sexual offences act (POSCO) as the victim is a 13-year-old minor and a distant relative of the accused.

According to reports, Shaikh had called the victim to his house on the pretext of helping her fill a scholarship form. He later sexually molested her.

In the complaint, the victim said that Shaikh proposed to her and raped her.

Meanwhile, Shaikh supporters said it was the conspiracy hatched by the political rivals.

The POSCO act makes it difficult for one to get bail easily. The POCSO Act was amended with five new clauses, including extending punishment from 10 to 20 years for penetrative sexual assault with children below the age of 16 and death sentence for aggravated penetrative sexual assault by a person in a position of authority--which includes police officers, members of the armed forces and public servants. It also includes cases where the offender is a relative of the child, or if the assault injures the sexual organs of the child.