Man sentenced to 20-years of jail for raping minor daughter

MUMBAI: A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court has on April 28 sentenced a 39-year-old-man to 20 years imprisonment for allegedly raping his 15-year-old daughter multiple times between 2017 and 2020.

According to the prosecution, the girl lost her mother at the age of five. Ever since, she has been living with her father and two younger sisters in Malad. She told the police that the ordeal began in 2017, when her father came home drunk and sexually assaulted her, which kept continuing over the next couple of years every time he consumed liquor.

She alleged that she disclosed the incident to her maternal aunt who refused to help her. In February 2020, she called the child helpline, following which a case was registered by the Malad police station against both the father and the maternal aunt.

At trial, the prosecution examined eight witnesses to prove the accused guilty, such as medical officers and the investigation officers. Additional public prosecutor Geeta Malankar also sought conviction for the aunt, saying she was equally liable for not reporting the incident to the police.

The defense contended that the man was falsely implicated by the girl since she was not attending school regularly, which led to conflict between the two.

“After evaluating the evidence of prosecution witnesses, it is established that victim who is daughter of accused came forward to resist the action of her own father who exploited her since the age of 13 years,” the court said while holding the man guilty of raping his minor daughter. The court, however, acquitted the girl’s maternal aunt for want of cogent evidence.