TIRUNELVELI: A special court for trial of cases under the Pocso Act in Tirunelveli sentenced a 34-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping his great-niece, who is a minor.
The girl later gave birth to a baby.
“The victim was 15 years old when the incident took place. DNA test of blood samples collected from the baby and the accused proved the crime,” said public prosecutor Jebajeeva Raja who appeared for the girl.
Sessions court judge P Indirani also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on the accused as he was found guilty under Section 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. Charges against the accused’s wife Jaya and his relatives could not be proven.
The girl from a village under the jurisdiction of the Ambasamudram all-woman police station in Tirunelveli district rolled tobacco leaves for a living. Her father worked in an eatery while her mother worked with her.
The accused, who is the girl's maternal uncle, lived close to their house. He was married and did not have kids. The man was desperate for a child.
In her complaint, the girl alleged that the accused’s wife invited her to their house on February 15, 2017 under the pretext of showing her a new sari. She asked the girl to try the sari and locked her inside the house.
The accused was in the house.
She was then sexually assaulted. The couple explained the victim that they wanted a child from her and the wife promised to get the girl married to him.
The accused repeatedly assaulted her.
A few months later, the rape survivor alleged that the man along with his wife and relatives had abused and threatened her.
Following this, she lodged a police complaint.