Mumbai: Observing that prima facie, a serious role was attributed to the accused and considering the student-teacher relationship between the victim and him, a special Pocso court recently rejected the bail plea of a man who, along with his two brothers, was accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting a minor student at their coaching centre for two years.
“Investigation has yet not been completed. Under such circumstances, it will not be proper to allow the bail application at this stage,” special judge JP Darekar said. Last month, the court granted bail to the two younger brothers.
The accused was arrested on Sept 29. Seeking bail, his lawyer submitted that he was innocent. “He has been falsely implicated in the crime. The informant has filed a concocted story against the accused. He is highly qualified and serving in a private company as well as a teacher in private tuition. He was running a coaching class along with his two brothers, and they had a successful business,” the defence advocate submitted. The defence further said that the investigation was practically over and the co-accused was already released on bail. “He is ready to abide by terms and conditions as may be imposed by the court,” the lawyer submitted.
However, opposing the bail plea, special public prosecutor Vidya Bansode submitted that this was a serious offence. “The accused has committed the offence against the victim minor girl. The applicant has taken undue advantage of his position as a teacher. Applicant [accused] and victim are residents of the same vicinity. If the applicant is released on bail, he may hamper and tamper with the prosecution evidence as well as witnesses or may commit a similar type of offence or may flee,” the prosecution said.
Last month, granting bail to the two younger brothers, the judge said that the reply objecting to their bail pleas was silent on any pending recoveries to be made from the accused. The judge also noted that the trial is not likely to commence in the near future.