Munnar: Dramatic scenes have unfolded at the special fast-track POCSO court in Kattappana on Thursday after a 24-year-old man was acquitted in a case of sexually assaulting and murdering a six-year-old girl. 

The child's mother burst into tears after hearing the verdict while the relatives protested outside the court, claiming denial of justice.

The incident pertaining to the case happened in 2021. The 6-year-old girl was found hanging on June 30 in a room in Churakulam Tea Estate located in Vandiperiyar. The autopsy report revealed that the girl was sexually assaulted. 

Later, Police booked Vandiperiyar native Arjun and took him into custody. According to police, the accused confessed that he molested the girl and killed her by hanging after she became unconscious. The probe team also claimed that he was addicted to porn and molested her several times over a period of three years.

However, the POCSO court acquitted Arjun on the grounds that the prosecution could not prove the charges of murder and rape against the accused. 

"He murdered my daughter. He killed her in the prayer room. He took the shawl from the almirah and hung her with it. He entered the house once I stepped outside after feeding the child," said the mother. 

“We were blessed with a child after waiting for 14 years... People in the locality know things he has done. He is acquitted. He is going to have a happy life. We lost our child, right?” she expressed her agony.