Mumbai : A special court here has sentenced a 33-year-old man to ten years imprisonment for impregnating his friend's daughter while he was given an accommodation in their house on rent.
The accused was found guilty of offences committed under relevant sections of the IPC for rape by special judge for POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) cases, Jayshri R Pulate, on February 21. A detailed order was made available on Wednesday.
The court said there was consistent and cogent evidence of the victim which reveals the accused repeatedly committed rape on her. On a claim of defence, the court said it is not necessary that the victim should feel vomiting or nausea about food due to her pregnancy. "It is also not necessary that every pregnant woman should go through the same pregnancy causes and therefore, it is possible that informant could not notice any change in the behavior of the victim till she complaint of stomach pain," the judge added.
However, the court acquitted the accused of charges under the POCSO Act (applied in cases were victims are minors) as the prosecution failed to prove the age of the victim. The rape case was registered at the suburban Ghatkopar police station by the victim's mother. The mother said they had a three-storey house whereby the accused was allowed to stay at the top floor on rent. On July 8, 2017, the victim complained of stomach pain and was taken to doctor.
On medical examination, she was found to be four-and-a-half months pregnant, according to the prosecution. When confronted by the family, the victim revealed the accused came to her while no one was at home in March 2017 and sexually assaulted her. She said a week later the accused repeated the offence and asked her not to reveal anything about the incident to anyone, said the prosecution.
The girl underwent an abortion and the foetus was sent for DNA examination, whose report revealed the victim and the accused were biological parents of the foetus, it added. PTI
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