Man gets life term for raping niece

A Delhi court has awarded life term to a man guilty of raping his minor niece because of which the girl got pregnant and suffered a natural abortion. The court also directed the government to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the victim.

A Delhi court has awarded life term to a man guilty of raping his minor niece because of which the girl got pregnant and suffered a natural abortion. The court also directed the government to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the victim.

HT Image

Sentencing 29-year-old Tara Chand to life imprisonment, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Kamini Lau said, “Convict Tara Chand had been regularly and unashamedly raping his own niece hardly aged 13-14 years after voluntarily consuming alcohol.”

Chand is the maternal uncle of the victim and had come to Delhi nearly five months prior to the incident in search of employment. He used to stay with the victim's family in their one-room rented accommodation in north west Delhi and used to sexually exploit the girl after taking her to an adjoining vacant room.

On May 1, 2012, the girl complained of stomach pain and her father took her to a hospital. Medical examination revealed that the girl was pregnant and had suffered a natural abortion. She then informed the doctors about being sexually exploited and a case was lodged after which Chand was arrested.

Terming the act "unpardonable", ASJ Lau said, “Not only did he violate the body of a child but he also tormented her mentally and played treachery with the family of the child who had given him shelter. Let alone leniency, he deserves exemplary punishment,” the court said, noting the case related to “intra familial sex abuse (or incest).”

The judge directed the Delhi government to grant a compensation of R1 lakh to the victim, studying in class 6th, to provide her "restorative and compensatory justice".