An octogenarian couple in Maharashtra has been convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail by a special court for sexually assaulting their 4-year-old neighbour, who called them ‘Dada-Dadi’.

The case dates back to 2013 and Judge Rekha N Pandhare of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) court observed that the accused being of her grandparents’ age were supposed to take care of the victim.

In her statement to the police, the girl had said that after she came back from school on September 4, 2013, she ate food and was watching cartoons on TV. Around noon, she went to the 4th floor of her building to play with a friend. She said as her friend was sleeping, she returned home when the accused who she called as ‘Dada-Dadi’ called on her.

The child said that when she went towards the man (87), he carried her and took her inside their house. He made her sit on a swing. But as she tried to leave, he slapped her. The 4-year-old alleged that while the woman held her, the man undressed her before sexually assaulting her. The woman (81) too allegedly repeated the act.

The girl said that when she tried to run, the man spat on her face and she was scared. But later she managed to dress up and run towards her home.

Her mother, in her statement, had said that after she returned home and finished her chores that day, around 10 pm she went to put the girl to bed. It was at that time that the girl told her mother that she wanted to tell her something if she was not scolded. When the mother assured her, the girl recounted the ordeal.

The mother immediately checked the girl’s private parts and found inflammation. The mother informed her husband and immediately lodged a complaint. The elderly couple who was in their 80s at the time were arrested the next day.