Man sentenced to life imprisonment for raping minor daughter in Kota

The man raped his minor daughter on December 19, 2022 and the complaint was lodged on March 9 this year. The verdict was ordered after recording statements of 11 witnesses.

Kota:A special POCSO court in Kota on Thursday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for sexually abusing his minor daughter and slapped a fine of Rs 10,000. The court has also ordered the state government to pay Rs 10 lakh to the victim.

During the hearing the judge Deepak Dubey gave reference of Hindu epic poem, 'Ramcharitmanas' and said that the case is similar to the crime committed by Bali, who forcefully took away his brother's wife. "When he was being killed, Bali questioned Lord Ram about the act. Lord Ram had replied that younger brother's wife, sister, son's wife and daughter are all equal and there is no sin in killing a person who wrongs any of the four," the judge said.

Government lawyer Lalit Sharma said that the case dates back to December 19, 2022. The victim is the eldest of the three daughters of the convict. When the man raped his daughter, her two sisters and mother were not in the house.

When the victim informed her mother about it the latter got into a fight with her father. The man apologised and the matter was settled. The victim did not lodge any complaint immediately after the incident.

However, three months later, the victim lodged a complaint at Udyog Nagar police station on March 9, 2023. The victim, who was a minor when she was raped turned 18 years old when the complaint was filed.

Police recorded the victim's statement in the court and her father was arrested. The chargesheet was presented in court within a month. Since then, the hearing of the case has been going on in the POCSO-3 court.

Finally, the court has given its verdict after recording statements of 11 witnesses and on the basis of 18 documents that were submitted.