Man gets 20 years for raping girl despite his DNA not matching fetus

Rajkot: A court in Dhoraji town of Rajkot district found a 22-year-old man guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl despite his DNA not matching her fetus, based on other evidence and the victim's statement.
At the same time, the court, in its recent order, also ordered the Rajkot superintendent of police (SP) to conduct a departmental inquiry against the investigating officer (IO) for failure to probe two other suspected perpetrators named as her friends in the complaint lodged by the girl's aunt.
The convict was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment.
In July 2024, the victim's aunt filed a complaint at Bhayavadar police station, alleging that the accused raped the girl over two years "under the pretense of romance", resulting in her pregnancy. He also allegedly threatened to harm her family if she failed to comply. The aunt, however, turned hostile during the trial.
The girl testified to multiple instances of rape over two years. When she missed her periods, she asked the accused for abortion pills, which he failed to provide. A pregnancy test at a relative's house confirmed her condition, and she later delivered a child at a Junagadh govt hospital.
Additional public prosecutor Kartikey Parekh argued, "The accused is not the father of the child according to the DNA report. The investigating officer admitted during cross-examination that the complainant mentioned the names of two other individuals as accused in her complaint. Despite this, the investigating officer did not conduct any inquiry to ascertain whether those individuals were involved in the crime."
"Even after receiving the DNA report, the investigating officer did not record the statements of the girl or her relatives regarding the involvement of other suspects, and the testimony of the victim can't be rejected only because the DNA report doesn't match," he argued.
After hearing both sides, the court stated: "The prosecution succeeded in proving that the accused committed the crime under BNS Sections 376 (3), 376 (2) (n) and under Pocso."
Additional district judge A M Shaikh also ordered the payment of Rs 10.50 lakh as compensation to the victim.
The court directed the Rajkot superintendent of police to conduct a departmental inquiry against the IO to determine why no investigation was conducted against the two other suspects.
Himkar Singh, SP, Rajkot, told TOI, "According to the court's order, I have entrusted ASP Simran Bharadwaj with the departmental inquiry against the IO of the case."