Pune: The court of additional sessions judge DP Ragit in the city on Wednesday convicted and sentenced an industrial firm employee to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping his 13-year-old daughter in their house in the Hadapsar area on May 13, 2018.The court also imposed a Rs 50,000 fine on the convict, which shall be paid to the rape survivor, the order stated.The judge pronounced the operative part of his judgment and order in open court after the accused was produced for pronouncing the sentence. “A full text of the judgment will be released in due course of time,” public prosecutor Leena Pathak told TOI.“The evidence recorded by the rape survivor and her mother and the medical evidence, further corroborated by the medical officer who examined the survivor, proved crucial in the conviction of the accused,” Pathak said.The girl’s mother was working as a cook at various households, while her father worked in Chakan.The prosecution’s case was that on May 14, 2018, when the woman returned home, she found her daughter crying inconsolably. The girl repeatedly asked her mother to admit her to a girl’s hostel as she did not want to live in their house.On being prodded further, the girl told her mother that on the afternoon of May 13, 2018, her father returned home and raped her. The woman then lodged a complaint with the Hadapsar police and her husband was arrested the following day.According to the daily status details posted on the court’s website, the court found the accused guilty of offences under sections 376(1) (rape); 376(2)(f) (severe form of aggravated rape by a person in position of trust or authority like relative or guardian) and 376 (3) (rape on girl below 16 years of age) of the Indian Penal Code.Besides, finding him guilty under sections 3, 4, 5 and 6 — all related to aggravated penetrative sexual assault — of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sections 7 read with 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the POCSO Act relating to sexual harassment and sexual assault.The accused has been in custody ever since his arrest on May 15, 2018, and the court ruled that he will get the benefit of set off for the seven years, 11 months and 20 days of detention so far, the court ruled.The court further recommended to the District Legal Services Authority, Pune, to decide the quantum of compensation to be awarded to the rape survivor under the state govt’s Victim Compensation Scheme.
