In a shocking case, a special POCSO court has sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly raping his 3 minor siblings, aged 7, 10, and 14, over a month in Chandanagar.
The accused, who claimed to be HIV+, has infected the children too.
An official associated with the investigation stated that, “Since the accused stated in court that he is HIV+, the children were also tested. Results show they too are HIV+.”
The 2 minor girls aged 10 & 14 are living in a home in the city, the 7-year-old boy has been put in another facility.
The official added, “Medical help is being extended to all 4, the accused and the survivors.”
The crime first came to light 2 years ago when the survivors shared the traumatic ordeal with their neighbor, a 46-year-old woman.
Moreover, their mother had been away for a funeral and returned only after a month. The neighbour offered shelter to the children briefly but had to give up when the accused fought with her and forcibly took the kids away.
When the minors came to her again, she mustered the courage and took them to the police station. Since then, she has stood by them like a rock and helped them sail through this tough legal battle.
The woman stated who makes a living selling scrap that, “I am a single woman and have 3 daughters. I decided to help the children purely on humanitarian grounds. The man might have married their mother, but that doesn’t give him the right to do anything with them.”
Testimony Of Kids
She stated the conviction made her feel relieved.
However, during the trial, accused tried to defend himself saying he was falsely implicated in the case because of financial issues with the mother of the kids.
He alleged the neighbour, too, held a grudge against him as he stopped children from collecting scrap with her.
The special POCSO court, observed that he failed to prove these claims. “It is clear that they (the contents of the complaint) clearly corroborate her (neighbour’s) version before the court,” the court noted, and ruled that “the evidence of the children is consistent and cogent throughout and their statements before the police, judicial officer are very much supporting the case of the prosecution and evidence before the court.”
Even as accused pleaded for leniency stating that he was suffering from HIV, the court said, “Considering the nature of the offence, this court is not inclined to apply the provisions of Probation of Offenders Act.”
