Wife alleges sexual assault on four-year-old daughter by husband
HC finds gaps in chargesheet, orders probe by new officer
Bengaluru (PTI): The High Court of Karnataka has ordered further investigation in a case where the husband has been accused by the wife of sexually abusing their four-year-old daughter.
The High Court found as many as nine lacunas in the charge sheet filed by the investigating officer.
It directed the Commissioner of Police to appoint a new Investigating Officer (IO) in the case who shall complete the further investigation within 10 weeks.
The wife had filed a complaint against her husband in August 2022 making "certain grave allegations." She had alleged that her husband was sexually perverted and watched pornography involving children. He allegedly took naked photos of himself with their four-year-old daughter and touched her inappropriately.
He demanded sex with the wife in the presence of the child. The husband allegedly loaded child pornography in the child's iPad and compelled her to watch them.
After her complaint, the husband was booked under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
A charge sheet was filed before the Sessions Court in October 2022 by the police after completing investigation. The wife however filed an application seeking further investigation as she found that several issues were not investigated.
Her application was rejected, forcing her to approach the High Court.
In his recent judgment, Justice M Nagaprasanna allowed the petition and directed the police to conduct further investigation. The HC noticed nine lacunas in the charge sheet filed by the police.
The HC said, "On a perusal of the charge sheet and the documents appended to the charge sheet, all the aforesaid lacunae, prima facie are correct. All the nine rungs which are in the considered view of the Court's vital piece of evidence have been deliberately let off by the Investigating Officer. If this would not form the ingredients of a shoddy investigation, I fail to understand as to what would."
Among the loopholes in the charge sheet, the HC found that while the statement of the child mentioned the name of the accused, it was not mentioned in the charge sheet.
Secondly, "the Investigating Officer has deliberately ignored incriminating material against the accused as a truncated statement forms part of the charge sheet," the HC noted.
The child's statement before the doctor was also not included in the charge sheet and the IO failed to record or conduct enquiry with the petitioner (wife) to substantiate the allegations.
The IO also failed to seize the laptop or mobile phones allegedly containing pornography nor inquired about them. The iPad was sent for FLS report which is still pending "but the charge sheet is filed. This is the sixth rung," the HC said.
The location of the use of laptop and mobile phones was also not mentioned in the charge sheet.
The IO also failed to record statements of other witnesses like maternal grandparents and other relatives about the perverted attitude of the accused-husband.
Even the report of the psychologist who had given a detailed report of the torment undergone by the child was not made part of the charge sheet.
The HC directed the trial court to wait for the further investigation.
"Till the filing of the report of further investigation, the concerned court shall not proceed further with the present charge sheet that is filed before it. On further investigation reports being filed before this court, the concerned court is at liberty to regulate its procedure and proceed further in accordance with law," the Court said.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
