No bail for man who slapped child leading to anxiety disorder
A 63-year-old man from Mumbai has been denied anticipatory bail after slapping an 8-year-old boy, causing the child to develop an anxiety disorder. The man was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Juvenile Justice Act.
MUMBAI: The sessions court has rejected the anticipatory bail application of a 63-year-old man from Borivali who was booked for slapping an 8-year-old boy leading to his being diagnosed with an anxiety disorder and undergoing psychiatric treatment.
“Based on CCTV footage of the incident placed on record by the complainant, the said act of the applicant towards the small victim boy cannot be ignored and hence, leniency cannot be granted in favour of the applicant, though he is a senior citizen,” additional sessions judge NL Kale said on December 22, while outlining the seriousness of the offence.
The defence appearing for the accused Tilakraj Saluja submitted that the senior citizen was disturbed by noise and chaos created by the children and hence had gone there only to convince them. However, rebutting this submission, the prosecution argued that the victim Vivan was undergoing psychiatric treatment due to the actions of the accused and prayed for rejection of his pre-arrest bail plea.
According to the prosecution, on November 9, Vivan’s father, the complainant, received a phone call from his wife around 8pm. She said that Saluja, Vivan’s friend’s grandfather, had slapped him and Vivan seemed very scared after the incident.
When asked, Vivan told his father that he and his friends were playing in front of the house that afternoon when Saluja suddenly approached them and sought him out. The elderly man grabbed him by his shoulders, shouted at him and slapped him for no apparent reason, such that he was scared to even play with his friends fearing a repeat of the incident, said Vivan.
Thereafter, Vivan’s father called Saluja’s son to clear the air, but the latter denied the allegations. According to the First Information Report (FIR) lodged on December 1, Vivan had been suffering from depression and fear since the said incident, and he had not gone out to play with other children. He was also diagnosed with agoraphobia – i.e., anxiety of being in a public or crowded place from which escape is difficult.
Saluja was booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and section 75 (cruelty to child) of the Juvenile Justice Act.
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