Father sentenced to life for sexually assaulting minor daughter in Mumbai

A father has been sentenced to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting his 16-year-old daughter on multiple occasions.

When the matter saw the light of the day, a case was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The special court convicted him on the basis of testimony given by the victim and her mother, who lodged a complaint against him, after he neglected their warnings multiple times.

The girl, in her deposition before the court, narrated her ordeal and told the court that her father first sexually assaulted her on May 17, 2017.

The girl informed the court that her mother had gone to hospital with her younger brother on May 17, when the incident took place. She was at home along with her two sisters. The girl deposed that her father came home and asked her sisters to go out of the house.

The girl further added that the accused, her father, raped her and threatened her to not reveal anything to anyone. The girl, however, complained about it to her mother. When her mother confronted the accused, he brutally assaulted the mother too.

Two days later, the accused again dragged the girl to bathroom and tried to force himself on her. However, her mother rescued her and warned him to stay away from her. The girl claimed that the accused did not budge and again tried to come close to her; it was when her mother took her to the police station and lodged a complaint against him. The accused was arrested on the same day in May 2017.

The court had also denied him bail apprehending that he may try to influence or threaten the victim or may repeat abusing her.

First Published: Aug 20, 2019 14:44 IST