A special court in Mumbai sentenced a 37-year-old man to 25 years in jail for raping his 13-year-old daughter. He was convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) after he was found guilty of raping his own daughter.
Justice Bharti Kale while punishing the accused said the he deserves no leniency as he caused immeasurable pain and trauma to his own daughter.
“A father lays a foundation of security, trust and love. A father makes his daughter’s life safe and protects her from getting hurt. But the victim’s father himself has caused immeasurable pain to her. The childhood trauma is bound to affect the victim. The court is confident that she will cope with the same with the help and guidance from various agencies established under the POCSO Act.”
Justice Bharti Kale
The court also directed that the girl be compensated Rs 15,000 under the victim compensation scheme.
According to the prosecution, the 13-year-old girl lived with her grandparents, uncle, father and two younger siblings.
The girl informed her grandmother about the incident when she questioned her about her menstrual cycle. The girl revealed that her father had been raping her since last year. The accused is separated from his wife, he denied the allegations, claiming that he was being framed.
He said that the house where they were staying was very small for any person to commit any such crime, without getting noticed by others. He added that the girl could have raised her voice for help as they lived in a crowded locality.
The court however said that the failure of the victim to raise shouts definitely doesn’t in any way create doubt in her evidence as the person in authority and on whom the victim’s life was dependent, had performed such acts.
“The victim’s failure to raise shouts is mainly for the reason that there is fear in the mind of children that if a close relative commits such nature of acts then what will happen to their life if they resist as the uncertainty of future loom large in their mind. Such kind of fear is real when the children are not protected in their own house and they are afraid of the world outside.”
The court, held him guilty based on the girl’s testimony and sentenced him to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment.