Last Updated on January 6, 2022 2: 42pm
Internationally acclaimed innovator and Padmasree awardee Udhab Bharali, who has been booked under POCSO has denied the allegations levelled against him by Lakhimpur district Child Welfare Committee.
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Addressing the media in North Lakhimpur on Thursday, Bharali termed the accusations as a conspiracy to malign his image in the public domain.
Expressing his faith in the judiciary he said that he would fight for justice and asked to wait for the truth to prevail.
Bharali was booked under the POCSO Act for allegedly raping a minor while she was under his foster care.
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Police registered an FIR against him invoking sections of the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO Act based on a complaint from a Chief Judicial Magistrate who was briefed by the District Legal Services Authority (DSLA), Lakhimpur on December 17.
He was granted a pre-arrest bail by Gauhati High Court on December 28 while calling for the case diary on January 7.
According to the FIR, the victim, an inmate of a children’s home, had alleged sexual assault for a year by her foster father, Bharali, while she was under his care.
The issue first came to light when the CWC members approached DSLA-Lakhimpur on November 30 with the victim’s statement, requesting them to help with legal remedies.
The DSLA-Lakhimpur guided them and sent a letter to the CWC chairman on December 8, seeking an action-taken report.
When no report was submitted till December 15, the DSLA sent a show-cause notice to the CWC on December 16.
Thereafter, the DSLA began a preliminary inquiry into the matter, recording the statement of the victim as well as ordering a medical examination.
The victim is currently in a children’s home, under special police protection.