Nagpur man gets jail till death for raping two daughters

NAGPUR: A 38-year-old autorickshaw driver was sentenced to life imprisonment till death after being found guilty of raping his minor daughters, aged 14 and 13, for a prolonged period. The court also fined three family members ₹5,000 each for failing to report the crime after coming to know about it.
The elder daughter had complained that the man started raping her a fortnight after her mother's death during delivery of her youngest sibling. The survivor had three more siblings. The man, despite marrying again, continued raping the two daughters between June 2019 and November 2020, before a case was registered at Tehsil police station.
After raping the elder one for almost one year, the father had started raping the younger sister too, before he was exposed. Additional public prosecutor and special counsel under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 Rashmi Khaparde said 14 witnesses were examined. “The two sisters had strongly deposed before the court along with one of their kin, with whom they had shared their plight,” said the special PP.
The special court had already held the man guilty under section 376 (2) (j)(n)(f) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) but awarded punishments under Pocso as per the mandate of section 42 as the special law had more severe punishment.
The court also ordered the District Legal Aid Services (DLAS) to distribute the fine amount among the rape survivors and also ensure their rehabilitation and further education.
Under section 4(2) of the Pocso Act, 2012, special judge OP Jaiswal sentenced the father to suffer rigorous life imprisonment till his last breath. Similar pronouncements were made for the accused under section 6 of the Act too for aggravated penetrative sexual assault.
The special court also sentenced the guilty to suffer three years imprisonment and fine Rs 1,000 under section 8 of Pocso Act. He was further sentenced to five years of imprisonment under section 10 of the Act. The court also sentenced the father to rigorous imprisonment of three years and fine Rs 1,000 for threatening the daughters of dire consequences if they revealed their ordeals.
Also holding three kin of the rape survivors responsible for failing to report the matter to police immediately after learning about it, the special court slapped fine of Rs 5,000 each on them. The court also asked them to remain in court till the end of working hours.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)