The crime rates against children does not seem to be stopping anytime soon and shockingly, they are coming from a place, we all deemed the safest for our children- schools.
Child sexual abuse is a growing menace with disturbing incidents coming to light after the people who are supposed to protect our children turn perpetrators of this crime. Fortunately, justice delayed was not justice denied in a case in Madurai, the nature of which has left us stunned.
A Government school headmaster in Madurai, S Arockiasamy, was found guilty of sexually abusing 91 girls and boys in the Podhumbu village and was sentenced to 55 years in prison along with a fine of Rs 3.40 lakh to be distributed among 22 of his victims, including Dalits.
As reported by Times Of India, the accused committed this gruesome crime for several years until, Panju, the mother of one of his victims mustered courage and filed a complaint seven years ago.
The mother of the victim was unfortunately not alive to see the labours of her courage bear fruit.
However, justice did not come the easy way in this case as the trial had to be taken several times to the Madras High Court where Justice S Nagamuthu’s ordered the case to be transferred to a special court under SCST Act from the regular Mahila Court in Madurai.
Even after the transfer, difficulties continued to crop up as the prosecutor was a male. It was only after several petitions filed by AIDWA and Podhumbu villagers that the court appointed Jaya Indra Patel of Mahila Court as public prosecutor, followed by Parimaladevi.
Public prosecutor P. Parimaladevi had a lot to say about the historic judgement passed by the court on the case. She said,
“For a special court for cases of atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, giving 50 plus years of imprisonment to a convict and making the convict pay fine to his victims is a first in the country.”
We are still waiting with bated breath for justice to be delivered in a lot of cases of crimes against children, but that does not stop us from feeling proud at the historic decision of the special court which ensured that the accused was aptly punished for his heinous crimes.