Man gets 20 years rigorous imprisonment for step daughter’s rape

Raipur, Jan 11: A fast-track court in Raipur has sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping his minor step-daughter.

The court also awarded a similar sentence to the victim's mother for abetment to rape.

Additional District and Sessions Judge (first fast track special court), Raipur Rajeev Kumar, convicted the 47- year-old man on Friday under section 376 AB (punishment for rape on woman below 12 years of age) and other relevant sections, special public prosecutor Morisha Naidu told PTI.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 70,000 on him.

His wife was convicted under IPC section 114 (abettor present when offence is committed) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court sentenced her to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and also slapped her with a fine of Rs 50,000, Naidu said.

In her statement, the 10-year-old victim alleged that her step-father had repeatedly raped her between 2018 and April 2019 at their residence in Mana area.

She also claimed that when she narrated her woes to her mother, she did not pay any heed. In April last year, the victim was shifted to a child home in Khamardih locality in Raipur by her mother.

The incident came to light in May 2019 after the girl narrated her ordeal to the superintendent of the child home during a counselling session, Naidu said.

Subsequently, the child home's superintendent lodged a complaint with Pandri police station on May 5 last year, following which the case was transferred to Mana police station, she added.