The district court here in Maharashtra relied on the deposition of prosecution witnesses and medical evidence to convict a 42-year-old man for raping his 18-year-old niece, even though she turned hostile, and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for ten years.
District and sessions court judge Rachna Tehra also imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on the man after convicting him under sections 376 (Punishment for rape) and 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the prosecution said. The court passed the order on Monday.
The judge stated the prosecution has successfully proved all the charges against the accused who need to be convicted and sentenced.
Additional Public Prosecutor Vinit A Kulkarni told the court the victim, who was 18 when she was raped by her uncle in October 2019, was an orphan and had been staying at an orphanage in Mumbra town in Thane district before she was sent to her uncle’s house.
The accused used to touch the complainant repeatedly and made advances. She was repeatedly molested and raped by her uncle in October 2019 who threatened her against disclosing the incident, the court was told.
The girl later confided in her friend and also told about her ordeal with officials of the orphanage, following which a case was lodged against the accused and he was arrested.
The prosecution examined four witnesses during the trial though the victim turned hostile.
