The Surajpur District and Sessions court Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to a 65-year-old man for committing digital rape on a three-and-a-half-year-old girl at Salarpur village under Noida Sector 39 Police Station in Uttar Pradesh.
The accused has been identified as Akbar Ali, a native of a village in Malda, West Bengal. The court of district and sessions judge Anil Kumar Singh pronounced Ali to life imprisonment based on evidence and eight testimonies.
The man was charged under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offence) and Section 375 and Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
What happened?
In 2019, Ali came to Salarpul village in Noida Sector 45 to visit his married daughter. During that time, he lured the minor daughter of a neighbour on the pretext of providing her candies.
Inside his house, he ‘digitally raped’ the girl.
The girl’s parents filed a written police complaint and a medical examination was done that confirmed rape.
Ali has been in the district jail since then. He was refused any interim bail.
Besides life imprisonment, he has also been slapped with a fine of Rs50,000.
What is digital rape?
No, digital rape has nothing to do with cybercrime or sexual offence committed over screens. It is the act of forceful penetration of fingers and toes without consent.
The word ‘digit’ in English means toe, finger and thumb. Hence, inserting the same against someone will classify as ‘digital rape’.
The term ‘digital rape’ is comparatively a newer one. Previously such acts were considered molestation and not rape.
However, with the unfortunate incident of Nirbhaya in 2012, new rape laws were introduced in Parliament and the act was considered a sexual offence under Sections 375 and 376 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The term was coined in 2013 to provide justice to victims of the heinous act.
Under the POCSO Act, the offender faces at least 5 years jail term. However, if a person is charged under Section 376, this punishment can be extended to ten years or even life imprisonment.
Examples of why ‘digital rape’ was coined
In another incident, a 60-year-old woman was sexually assaulted by an auto-driver inside his vehicle in Delhi. An iron rod was sued to penetrate her. Although the offender was arrested, he was not convicted under Sections 375 and 376 of the IPC.
Similarly in 2012, a 2-year-old from Mumbai was taken to the hospital bleeding, and although there was no proof of rape or sexual assault, the physicians found that her vagina was burst.
Eventually, it was found that her father had been piercing the girl with his fingers. However, the father was detained but not tried and punished under Section 376 of IPC.
These opened various loopholes in the definition of rape, sexual offences and the laws surrounding them.
Previously, the government found it difficult to treat these cases under the rape laws of India.
Knowing that there are other ways that a man can use to violate a woman or child's dignity, the Supreme Court had to make some changes to its definition of rape. Keeping all the above cases and heinous instances of crime, the definition of rape was extended in 2013.
According to this new definition, rape is considered an act of forcefully penetrating a woman's vagina, mouth, anus or urethra by a penis, any foreign object or any other part of the body.
Rape victims are classified into two categories by lawmakers — Majors and minors. While major digital rapists are booked and tried under Sections 375 and 376, minor digital rapists are tried both under Sections 375 and 376 and the POCSO Act.
Data and analysis
According to several media reports, 70 per cent of the time, people who have violated the dignity of a child, are someone they knew personally and are close to them.
Offenders they knew through social circles counted for 29 per cent while 1 per cent of cases registered for strangers being the offender.
Other incidents of digital rape
A few days back, a 50-year-old man named Manoj Lala was arrested for digitally raping a seven-month-old girl child under the Noida Phase-3 police station area.
In May 2022, an 81-year-old sketch artist was arrested in Noida for the alleged 'digital rape' of a 17-year-old girl for over seven years. Police said the suspect was living with the minor victim as her guardian.
In June 2022, a 5-year-old kid was allegedly a victim of digital rape by his father in a high-rise society in Noida Extension. The incident came to light after the girl complained of genital pain.
