Haryana cops book woman for raping minor boy.

The accused woman is absconding. We are working to arrest her, said police officer Anju

In a rare case, the Haryana police today registered a case against a woman for raping a 14-year old minor boy.

The accused, a 29-year old woman has been booked under section 4 of the Prevention of Child from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, investigating police officer Anju told DH. The case against the accused lady was registered under directions of the local court in Palwal district, Haryana, she added.

“The accused woman is absconding. We are working to arrest her,” Anju said.

Rape laws as defined under section 375 of the Indian Penal Code are not gender-neutral and provide for punishment for raping a woman. However, section 4 of the POCSO Act is gender-neutral for sexual crimes against a child, Punjab and Haryana High Court advocate Mohit Garg told DH. “Section 4 of the POCSO Act prescribes punishment for a penetrative sexual assault on a child,” he said, adding that under the law a child is any person below 18 years of age.

According to Palwal police, the woman had complained in October last year accusing the ‘youth’ of raping her. Based on the complaint, the police arrested the accused who was sent to judicial custody by the court.

The woman said she lost her husband some years ago. She alleged that the accused promised to marry her and the two began to live together. She said she became pregnant, but the accused went back on his words to marry her.

However, during the trial, the court discharged the minor accused of the charges, in-charge of woman police station Palwal Rekha said. Later, the woman was booked for raping the boy. Mohit Garg said that the section under which the woman has been booked by the police carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. As per the latest report of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), Haryana has the third highest crime rate against women in the country. There are more than three cases of rape registered in the state daily.