Man gets 20 years in jail for raping minor daughter

The parents of the victim were arrested on August 20, 2019, and were put behind bars. Based on the victim’s testimony, supported by medical evidence, the court convicted the father for having sexually assaulted his 13-year-old daughter and sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment

MUMBAI: The sessions court on Monday sentenced a 40-year-old autorickshaw driver from Borivali to twenty years imprisonment for sexually assaulting his 13-year-old daughter multiple times. The court also convicted the mother for not reporting the case to the police, despite knowing about her daughter’s abuse by her husband but letting her off with six months of imprisonment.

Minor Rape. (File Photo: IANS) (IANS)

As per the case registered with the Kasturba Marg police station, on June 20, 2018, when the family was at their native place in Bihar, the man had sexually assaulted his daughter in the presence of his wife. Later, when they were residing in Mumbai, on August 17, 2019, the accused attempted to rape her. When she resisted, he gagged her mouth. When the girl tried to alert her sleeping mother, she did not respond.

She later managed to escape and sought shelter at the house of their neighbour, who alerted the police, and the case was registered.

The parents of the victim were arrested on August 20, 2019, and were put behind bars. Based on the victim’s testimony, supported by medical evidence, the court convicted the father for having sexually assaulted his 13-year-old daughter and sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment.

The court, however, acquitted the mother of the charges of conspiracy and abatement, holding that “accused no. 1 (father) used to consume liquor and beat his wife, accused no. 2 (mother). If this is considered along with the fact that accused no. 1 established sexual intercourse with the victim in the presence of accused no. 2 suggests that applicant no. 2 was under fear of accused no. 1 and was not able to resist accused no. 1 from committing intercourse with the victim. If a person under fear omits to do certain acts, in my considered view, it cannot be said to be aiding, instigating, or hatching the conspiracy.”

The court, however, held her guilty for not reporting the matter to the police. “It has been established from the evidence of the victim that accused no. 2 knew the commission of the offence. However, she did not report it to the police. At a particular time, a person may be in fear but cannot be said to be continuously under fear for a long time. In the present case, the first instance appears to be around 2018. However, accused no. 2 did not report to the police either in Bihar or Mumbai,” said the court.

The woman will come out of jail immediately, as she already served more than the jail term handed down to her.