The Mahila Court here has awarded life imprisonment to a van driver for raping and impregnating a deaf and dumb woman, his cousin.
M. Balamurugan, 30, of Vadakku Chottaiyanthoppu on Thoothukudi outskirts raped the woman when she had gone to fetch water from a well in front of Balamurugan’s house in September 2015. Though she did not tell anybody about the sexual assault as Balamurugan had threatened her of dire consequences, she became pregnant and subsequently suffered miscarriage.
As the matter came to light, the victim’s father filed a complaint with Thoothukudi All Women Police who arrested Balamurugan. The trial was conducted with the help of a special school teacher, who got the information from the victim through sign language.
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Mahila Court Judge C. Kumar Saravanan while awarding Balamurugan life imprisonment also imposed a fine of ₹5,000 on Friday.