Thane: Man gets life for raping, impregnating minor niece

THANE: The Thane sessions court has convicted a 45-year-old man from Vajreshwari near Bhiwandi for repeatedly raping his brother-in-law's minor daughter in 2016, impregnating her and awarded him imprisonment for life.
The victim, then aged 16, had lost her father around five years prior to the incident and her mother had left her due to which she had been residing with her grandmother, said prosecutor Rekha Hiwrale. The accused used to sleep at the same house.
It was between July 2016 and December 2017 that the accused repeatedly raped her and she became pregnant. When she was found to be seven months pregnant, her grandmother lodged the complaint at Ganeshpuri police station and the accused was then arrested and subsequently tried for various offences relating to rape and under sections of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Hiwrale said that based on the deposition by the prosecution witnesses and available records, the court held that the prosecution had successfully proved the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
The court convicted him and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Apart from the sentence, additional sessions judge and special judge VV Virkar also fined the convict a sum of Rs 10,000.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court's directives on cases related to sexual assault)