PALANPUR: On charges of raping his minor stepdaughter for over a month, police have arrested a 30-year-old man on Saturday. “We have arrested Naresh Rajput from the outskirts of Karjoda village for raping his minor stepdaughter,” said police sub-inspector of Taluka Police Station Palanpur, AK Desai.
According to police, Rajput had kept the 13-year-old survivor and her mother at his house in Rawal locality in Karjoda village, nearly 18 km from Palanpur. However, the mother of the girl, a Dalit, had left Rajput around a month ago and taking advantage of the girl staying alone with him, started assaulting her sexually.
When she could no longer endure the trauma, the minor narrated her ordeal to the landlord of the rented accommodation they were staying and he helped the minor lodge a rape compliant with the taluka police late on Friday night at about 11.30 pm. Police arrested the accused and booked him under section 376 of IPC and POCSO besides provisions of Atrocity Act.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)