On Wednesday, the special POCSO court awarded life imprisonment to a 59-year-old man for raping his nine-month-old daughter in 2017.
According to Indian Express, the court during sentencing relied on medical evidence and depositions of the mother and a neighbour who had confronted the father after the incident. The incident had taken place on January 18, 2017, in middle of the night. The mother woke up on hearing the child’s cry and saw her husband sexually abusing her. The accused warned her not to disclose it to anyone and also beat her up.
The couple had got married in 2005 and the accused had earlier expressed dissatisfaction at the birth of a girl child. A day after the incident, the woman took her daughter to the hospital when she could not urinate. The doctors advised that the child must undergo sonography, but the woman left as she did not have any money. After 10 days, the accused, who had fled the scene, returned home and the mother insisted that the child be taken to the hospital.
The accused agreed to take the child to hospital but on the condition that the mother would not speak about the incident. But the hospital informed the police after examining the child, following which the accused was arrested.
During the trail, the infant’s mother pleaded that the accused be released, as the family was facing financial difficulties. She told the court that since her husband was arrested she was unable to take care of her four children and had even failed to pay the house rent. But, Judge C A Nathani found the accused guilty under section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and relevant IPC sections and awarded him life imprisonment.
