rapepublic1Legal officials said that this was possibly the first conviction in Thane under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act after the law was promulgated in November 2012.

 

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THANE: A 54-year-old man from Navi Mumbai was convicted and sentenced for life for repeatedly raping his minor daughter, by a Thane district sessions court.

Legal officials said that this was possibly the first conviction in Thane under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act after the law was promulgated in November 2012.

The court based its verdict on the medical reports and statements of the 11-year-old victim and her younger sister who seconded the statement as she had witnessed her father sexually assaulting the survivor often.

Public prosecutor Ruma Nawale argued for harsh punishment and said that the accused, who was addicted to liquor, would often come home drunk and beat his children.

Nawale said that the accused had lost his wife and his children were being looked after by his aged mother in their shanty at Turbhe in Navi Mumbai. The accused worked as a sweeper and was the sole bread earner in the family.

“He would slip into the bed alongside his two minor daughters and in the middle of the night, sexually assault his elder daughter and also repeatedly raped her on several occasions,” said the prosecution.

Though the victim was threatened into silence, she mustered the courage to inform her grandmother about the rape. However, she was advised to remain silent by her grandmother, added the lawyer.

The girl’s ordeal continued on several occasions in mid 2013, after which she narrated the incident to a neighbour who led her to an orphanage.

The two girls simultaneously lodged a complaint with the Turbhe police station after which the father was charged under Sections 323,376 and 377 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 4,6,8 of the POCSO Act.

During the trial, the sisters narrated the act of their father on the victim, which occurred in the middle of the night. The survivor told the court that her father would put her to sleep on finding her disturbed and continued with his act on several occasions.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thane/Father-gets-life-term-for-raping-11-year-old-daughter/articleshow/49301724.cms