Mumbai court sentences man to 20-year imprisonment for raping step-daughter

A special court in Mumbai has relied on a DNA test report and sentenced a 41yearold man to 20 years imprisonment for repeatedly raping his 16yearold stepdaughter since 2019 and impregnating her even the victim turned hostile during the case trialSpecial Judge Anis Khan designated to hear cases related to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences POCSO Act in the order passed on Tuesday said in such peculiar circumstances DNA tests are an effective tool for investigation as well as to establish the proof of guilt of the accusedThe DNA report clearly indicates the accused was the biological father of the foetus of the victim girl the court said in the order a copy of which was made available on WednesdayIt is indeed sad that a very serious and heinous offence has been committed by a stepfather on his stepdaughter who is a child below 18 years it saidAlso Read Corruption case Bombay HC adjourns hearing on exMaha minister Anil Deshmukhs bail plea till Dec 2Merely because the victim and her mother have turned hostile does not mean it would lead the prosecution case to fail the court saidAs per the prosecution the accused had been raping the girl since October 2019In June 2020 the girl informed about the offence to her mother following which a police complaint was lodged During a medical examination it was revealed the girl was 16 weeks pregnant The pregnancy was later terminatedDuring the trial the victim and her mother turned hostileThe court in its judgement said the victim and her mother in their statements before the court claimed the accused was the only earning member of their family and hence they want to forgive him and bring him out of jailThe statement given by the victim is sufficient to prove she is under emotional pressure from her mother and hence has denied the incidents the court notedIn these peculiar circumstances DNA tests are an effective tool for investigation as well as to establish the proof of guilt of the accused In the present case the DNA test has proved that the accused and the victim were the biological parents of the foetus the court saidThe procedure of collection of blood samples submission of the same to a lab and further analysis was done properly and hence the final DNA report has to be accepted the court saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever