Justice for Lalita

One and half year of fight to protect a girl, a victim of abuse in Mumbai

After eighteen months of tireless work, the Mumbai Smiles team succeeds in getting the aggressor of a minor imprisoned and the victim receiving the comprehensive support she needs to recover.

It’s three in the afternoon in a neighborhood of Mumbai, where we work. Twelve-year-old Lalita, a beneficiary of the Accesss to school project by Mumbai Smiles, asks a neighbor for help repairing her home’s fan while her mother is in the hospital. What happens next is her difficult and painful story..

Eighteen hours of fight, eighteen months of acompaniment

Lalita’s story—a pseudonym to protect her identity—culminated in October 2024 with a bittersweet victory: after a year and a half of constant monitoring, psychological counseling sessions, motivational meetings with her mother, and ongoing legal action, the Bombay Smiles team finally succeeded in getting a formal complaint filed and the accused imprisoned.

The final 18 hours before achieving this were particularly intense. Prafullata and Varsha, members of our team, waged a relentless battle with police officers to ensure the case was officially registered under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, the Indian legislation that protects minors from sexual abuse.

The burden of silence and shame

It was September 2023 when the incident occurred. Lalita, then 11 years old, was home alone when a neighbor, ten years her senior, entered under the pretext of helping her with the fan. Seeing that no one else was around, he tried to sexually assault her, covering her mouth and attempting to touch her private parts. Lalita screamed and managed to escape.

Her mother reacted immediately when her daughter told her what had happened. Along with neighbors, they confronted the assailant and went to the police station. But here another battle began: family and social pressure.

Lalita’s father and other relatives pressured her mother not to speak about the case. “His name will be tarnished,” they told her. It is a sadly common story in many communities where the stigma falls on the victim and not on the perpetrator.

Initially, the complaint only mentioned that the young man had “caused problems for the family.” It was registered as a non-cognizable complaint (NC) under Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, which punishes willful physical assault with up to one year in prison or a fine of 1,000 rupees.

This is where the Bombay Smiles team stepped in with determination.

The intervention that marked the difference

The team convinced the mother to expand her complaint. When the perpetrator began threatening the family, Smiles of Bombay acted as a bridge between the family and the authorities, speaking directly with senior officers at the police station to ensure a thorough investigation.

Although the medical examination at the civilian hospital found no physical evidence of sexual abuse—the girl had managed to escape in time—the accused was placed under police surveillance with the obligation to report to the station every 15 days.

But Smiles of Bombay’s support went far beyond the legal realm. Understanding the profound psychological trauma, the team coordinated with Arpan, an NGO specializing in child abuse cases, so that Lalita could receive psychological counseling sessions. For over a year, the girl worked on her emotional recovery.

The improvement was remarkable when the perpetrator temporarily left. But in August 2024, everything changed: the young man returned. Upon seeing him again, Laita began to show symptoms of severe post-traumatic stress.

A second threat and the definite response

On October 8, 2024, as Lalita was heading to the bathroom, her attacker directly threatened her: “You filed a false rape complaint against me, but now I’m going to make that complaint real.”

This new threat was the turning point. Supported by Smiles of Bombay and Arpan, the mother decided to take the decisive step: filing a formal complaint under the POCSO Act. This legal action was necessary not only for Lalita’s safety but also for her mental health and the progress of her therapy sessions.

It was then that Prafullata and Varsha engaged in those final 18 hours of intense negotiations with the police, which ultimately resulted in the accused’s arrest.

Lalita’s case illustrates a painful reality: In many vulnerable communities, victims of child sexual abuse face not only the trauma of the attack but also social pressure to remain silent. Families often lack the resources, legal knowledge, and emotional support needed to seek justice.

This is where the work of organizations like Mumbai Smiles becomes crucial. Offering educational or financial assistance is not enough: child protection requires a comprehensive approach that includes legal support, psychological assistance, family empowerment, and unwavering persistence in the face of systems that do not always prioritize the protection of the most vulnerable.