A special court dealing with sexual offences against children on Tuesday sentenced a 42-year-old man to ten years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting his two teenage daughters over a period of three years between 2015 and 2018.
The elder daughter who was 16 in 2018 had lodged the complaint against her father after neighbours learnt about their situation and took them to the police station. The mother of the girls had passed away and they were living with their father and brother aged 18 in the western suburbs.
The sexual assault on the elder daughter had begun in their native in Uttar Pradesh. She had informed an elder woman relative and after the man had apologised and assured not to repeat the act, the family had decided to keep things quiet. In a year’s time, the man had shifted along with his daughters and son to Mumbai. As per the 16-year-old’s statement to the police, her father, a factory worker, would frequently sexually assault her in the afternoons when her brother was not at home and in the presence of her younger sister, then 14 years. Later, he began sexually assaulting the younger girl when the elder resisted. The victim stated that he would beat them and threaten to kill them if they revealed the matter to anyone.
Prosecutor Veena Shelar said their ordeal came to light when the elder one screamed out in pain when he beat her as she resisted his attempt. On hearing the screams, two women from the neighbourhood asked her to come out of her home. Taking the girls into confidence, they learnt about their ordeal. The women immediately took them to the police station and a complaint was lodged.
Special Judge SC Jadhav under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act recommended the case for compensation to the victims to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA).
