The Alibaug sessions court has convicted and sentenced a 21-year-old Uran resident to 10 years’ imprisonment for raping and impregnating his then 13-year-old cousin in 2017.
The court, in its ruling on Friday, also imposed a fine of ₹5,000 on him.
The case was registered on December 31, 2017, when the girl’s mother learnt that her daughter was pregnant after a sonography test. The girl told her mother her cousin had been raping her for a few months.
“The convict, who lived a street away from the victim’s house, had threatened her with dire consequences if she did not do as he said. On ocassions when she refused to go to his home, he threatened to kill himself and make her appear responsible for it,” additional public prosecutor Ashwini Bandivdekar-Patil said.
The girl underwent termination of pregnancy, but the DNA of the foetus was preserved and matched that of the convict. “The DNA reports were positive and that played a major role in his conviction. Statements of the victim, doctor and police officers also played an important role,” Ms. Bandivdekar-Patil said.
The convict was unemployed, while victim was a Class IX student. He has been convicted under Section 376 (2) (f) (raping a minor) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 3, 4, 5 (j) (ii) and 6 of the Protection Of Children Against Sexual Offences Act.
