Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): District and Sessions Court on Thursday awarded 20 years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) to man for raping his minor step-daughter.
The court of ADJ Kumudini Patel also imposed a fine of Rs 4 lakh on the convict; the amount will be given to the victim for her further study. As per public prosecutor Divya Shukla, the victim’s mother had married one Ramesh (name changed) after her biological father deserted them in 2020. The girl was just 10-year-old then.
Ramesh outraged her modesty and threatened her with consequence and that he would poison her with rodenticides if she disclosed about being violated. However, the girl’s grand-mother saw the man sexually assaulting the child on May 6, 2020 and told the girl’s mother.
The woman then approached Koh-e-Fiza police and a case under 376(ab) of IPC and various sections of POCSO Act were registered against the man. The court, in its observation stated that it was when the grandmother saw it, that the victim mustered the courage to report the incident to the police.
“This shows that the mental state of minor girls varies depending on the situation, there is no fixed norm for how they behave. It may be difficult for a victim to share such an incident even under normal circumstances,” it further added.
