VADODARA: An autorickshaw driver was arrested by police for raping his 14-year-old daughter several times over the past nine months in Savli taluka of Gujarat's Vadodara district.
The teenage girl lodged a complaint of rape, criminal intimidation and violation of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Bhadarva police station on Tuesday after narrating her ordeal before her mother recently.
According to police, the 38-year-old autorickshaw driver used to rape the girl when she would be alone at home. Whenever the girl protested, her father threatened to kill her siblings and mother. The crime came to light recently when the girl missed her periods and her mother asked the girl to speak honestly with her. The girl told her mother about the ordeal she had been going through because of her father for the past nine months.
The girl’s mother was shocked to hear her husband’s cruelty, however, she confronted him. Police said that instead of admitting to his crime, the accused scolded his wife and asked her to keep everything under wraps.
“The girl’s mother wanted to lodge a complaint, but the accused threatened and pressurised her to not do so. However, the mother-daughter duo gathered courage and approached us,” said a police official.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)