In another addition to a concerning spate of such incidents, a 10-year-old boy residing in Delhi's Seelampur area died after he was sodomised by his peers, police said on Saturday, 1 October.
The deceased was sodomised on 18 September, by three of his friends aged 10-12 years, who live in the same neighbourhood in Seelampur, as per the police. He was admitted to Lok Nayak Hospital on 22 September.
A case has been registered under sections 377 (unnatural offences) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, on basis of the statement provided by the victim's mother.
While one of the accused minors in the case has been apprehended, efforts are underway by the police to apprehend the other two boys.
Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women, Swati Maliwal, acknowledged the horrific incident on Saturday, saying that the perpetrators should be punished severely.
On Monday, 26 September, a 23-year-old man from Chandigarh was sentenced to 30-year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh for sodomising an eight-year-old boy. In another case in the same month, a 20-year-old cable technician from Hyderabad was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sodomising a minor in 2018.
Rigorous imprisonment for a specified duration is awarded in offences deemed to be of serious nature.
While the Supreme Court's landmark judgment in 2018 had decriminalised homosexuality under Section 377, the Centre had said that the other aspects of the penal provision dealing with minors and animals should be allowed to remain in the statute book.
Crimes under Section 377 are punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of description for a term which may extend to ten years, and are also be liable to fine.
Under POCSO Act, 2012, maximum punishment of rigorous imprisonment for life can be given to an offender.
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