A special court in Mathura on Thursday awarded life imprisonment ‘until final breath’ to a man for kidnapping and raping his stepdaughter. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court, Mathura Judge Amar Singh has observed that the convict deserved no leniency as he was the custodian of the minor girl when the incident happened.
The Court also imposed a cumulative fine of Rs 2 lakh on the convict and in case the convict fails to deposit the fine, the government would pay Rs 2 lakh to the victim as compensation, the judge ordered while canceling bail of the convict.
On February 10, 2013, the 15-year-old daughter of a Muslim widow, resident of a village in Surir police station limits, was taken away by her second husband, Shaubi, resident of Mamori, police station, Aligarh, when the mother had gone to one of her relatives. When she returned home, she came to know about it. After searching for two days, the mother filed a report against her second husband in the police station.
The accused first took the 15-year-old step-daughter to his house in Aligarh and from there he took her to Latur, Maharashtra, where he raped her. According to the FIR, he also took a motorcycle, about Rs 1.5 lakh, and gold and silver jewelry from the house. After about a month, the police recovered the daughter from the father and sent him to jail. Later, the father got bail.
While hearing the case, the prosecution presented seven witnesses in the court of POCSO II. After which the court in its judgment, referring to the social humanitarian concern of the father-daughter relationship, has sentenced the accused to life imprisonment (up to natural life).
ADGC Subhash Chaturvedi said that in addition to life imprisonment, the accused has been punished with a fine of Rs 2 lakh. This fine will be payable to the victim. In case the accused does not pay the fine, this amount will be given by the government to the victim.