Liberty, dignity and justice for all ~ Tales from the ‘forbidden area’
It is important to note that while sex work itself is not illegal in India, trafficking for sexual exploitation is a punishable offense under Indian law.
A court in Kerala has sentenced a man to three life terms for the rest of his life for repeatedly raping his minor daughter and impregnating her.
Manjeri Fast Track Special Court judge Rajesh K convicted the man under the charges of offences of rape, aggravated sexual assault and penetrative sexual assault and intimidation of the victim under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
The court has sentenced the accused to three terms of life imprisonment and has ordered that the remainder of his life shall be in prison. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 6.6 lakh on the convict.
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The convict was a teacher in a madrassa. He raped his daughter several times till October 2021, when no one was at home. According to the Special Public Prosecutor, the convict, father of the girl, dragged her to his bedroom and raped her.
The 15-year-old girl was attending online classes at her home then due to COVID-19 pandemic. The public prosecutor said that when the victim protested, he threatened to kill her mother.
When offline classes resumed in November 2021, the victim started going to school. During that time, she felt some pain in the stomach, for which she was taken to the doctor, but nothing was known.
When she again complained of pain in January 2022, she was taken to a government medical college. There it was found that she was pregnant. She accused his father of raping her. Then, a case was lodged against the accused and he was arrested.
Subsequently, the pregnancy of the victim was medically terminated and DNA samples of the foetus, the girl and her father were collected. The DNA analysis proved the girl’s father was the offender.
The DNA evidence along with the statements of the victim and her mother were crucial in convicting the accused, the Special Public Prosecutor said.
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