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10-year old Delhi girl sketches her ordeal, judges send rapist uncle to jail

  • The girl was repeatedly assaulted by her uncle when she was 8-years old.
  • She fled her aunt's home and was found by HAQ in a bus.
  • It took multiple counselling sessions for her caregivers to make her open up in front of the judges.
10 year old girl raped in delhi sketch leads to uncle arrested judges consider it evidence

It must have been a great ordeal for a girl of 8 to go through what she had been through in the hands of the person whom she considered her "saviour". As if a dead mother and an irresponsible alcoholic father was not enough to break this little girl, repeated sexual assault by her uncle would have been enough for this girl to break down when she was eight. She did not forget anything two years after she fled the ordeal.  

Abandoned by her father when her mother died, the girl was brought home by her aunt in Delhi, who was no exception from the others in her family. She used to make the girl work at other people's house for an earning. But what made her life truly horrible was her uncle Akhtar Ahmed. 

While the judges deciding on her case considered it a competent evidence, her uncle's defendant argued that the girl had been tutored to accuse him of rape and could not be considered a witness. Things took an unexpected turn when the girl was given a drawing sheet and some colours to keep her engaged during the hearing. She drew all she understood of the wrong-doing on it. And what shaped up convinced the judges that she was wronged and raped by her uncle. She drew an abandoned house, a girl holding a balloon attached to entwined strings, and a dress lying beside her. She filled the drawings with "gloomy" colours, which was enough to express her ordeal. Additional sessions judge Vinod Yadav considered it evidence enough to arrest the uncle.  

Yadav further said, "If the elements of this drawing are considered in the background of facts and circumstances of this case, then commission of sexual assault upon her by somebody in her house after undressing her, and it leaving an impression upon her mind, becomes evident." He further added that it was enough to explain the girl's suffering to someone having no knowledge about the facts of the case. "Therefore, I find the child victim to be a competent witness."

Her uncle may escaped punishment for a long time, but she finally opened up against him with the encouragement she received from her counsellors and caregivers at HAQ. After she was found in a bus in November 2014, she was was taken under the wings of the Centre for Child Rights. While the girl's medical examination had already proved that she may have been assaulted sexually, her caregivers at the rehabilitation center further helped her open up. However, it still took some time to piece together the evidences. 

When her uncle was traced and arrested on June 4, he claimed innocence. The court, however, said that since the assault was non-penetrative, he would receive only 5 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000. For the girl's rehabilitation and development, the court ordered a compensation of Rs 3 lakh in fixed deposits. 

Meanwhile, the child's lawyer and child rights activist Chandra Suman Kumar said, "The legal battle is over. The girl lives in a children's home and is attending regular school. She is doing very well in her studies and hopefully the compensation will help to build a bright future for her."

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