New Delhi: A Kenyan diplomat’s son, accused of sexually assaulting a minor on a Delhi school bus last year, has left the country, the parents of the 5-year-old girl have claimed.
“We have come to know that he has left India. There are three FIRs against him for molesting and sexually assaulting minor girls. Even then, he has left the country and continues to face no legal action whatsoever,” the minor’s father told ThePrint Wednesday, adding that the family’s hope for justice was fading fast.
The assault took place last August, when both were studying at the same school. A month later, the Delhi Police had registered an FIR against the diplomat’s son, a Class 12 student of a South Delhi public school, under Section 75(2) (sexual harassment) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the basis of a complaint filed by the minor’s parents.
The school had suspended the accused after the girl’s parents and those of other students protested in February.
Since then, two other separate FIRs under similar sections have been lodged against him, police sources confirmed to ThePrint.
The parents of the victim had last month also filed a petition in the Delhi High Court. The next hearing is scheduled on 7 April.
In February, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had asked Kenya to revoke the accused’s diplomatic immunity so he could be prosecuted.
In response to ThePrint’s request for a comment on the minor’s parents’ claim, an MEA spokesperson said, “The matter is before the Delhi High Court and therefore is sub judice. We will wait for further directions from the court.”
ThePrint has also reached the Kenyan High Commission for comment via email.
“He has left the country. His diplomatic immunity hasn’t been waived. So where is the justice? This is just too disappointing. Now the only option will be to what? Move on?” the girl’s father, who has since shifted her to a different school, asked. “If not in India, we thought at least he would be punished in his own country.”
Since the accused, a Kenyan national, has diplomatic immunity, he cannot be detained or questioned by Indian investigating agencies in the case. Diplomatic immunity, under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, allows special privileges to diplomats and their immediate family members residing in a foreign country.
“The school management, after repeated complaints against the accused since September, had taken no action against him or even a single precaution, which led to children being sexually harassed. The school administration has to be held accountable,” the father had told ThePrint in February. Meanwhile, the school’s principal has also been changed.
ThePrint reached the school for comment. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
Also read: Kenyan diplomat’s son, a class 12 student accused of assaulting 5-yr-old, suspended from school