Maharashtra: Man jailed for raping minor stepdaughter, making her pregnant

A special POCSO court here on Friday sentenced a 39-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly raping his minor stepdaughter and making her pregnant.

Special judge Seema Jadhav held the man guilty under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code.

The girl told the court that her stepfather sexually assaulted her multiple times in 2016 when she was 16 years old and threatened to harm her if she revealed anything to anyone.

Her mother told the court that the man had stopped working and would indulge in alcohol and drugs. She said that she had seen him molesting her daughters and that he had been warned about that.

However, In July 2016, the family learnt that the girl was three months pregnant, the mother told the court. Later, she filed a case against the man at Shivajinagar police station in Mumbai.

Public prosecutor Veena Shelar said the court relied on a DNA report, testimonies of nine witnesses, including the girl and her mother, and medical experts to convict the man

(PTI)