Nagaon: A special court in Assam’s Nagaon district has delivered a severe sentence in a distressing case of familial sexual abuse, condemning a 50-year-old man to life imprisonment for the rape and subsequent pregnancy of his 13-year-old daughter.
The landmark verdict was pronounced on October 24 by Additional District and Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge Chitra Rani Saikia at the Nagaon Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Court. Beyond the life sentence, the court ordered the convict to pay Rs 5 lakh in compensation to the survivor.
The judge included a stern proviso: a failure to provide the compensation would lead to an additional six months of incarceration for the offender.
Details of the crime, as confirmed by Nagaon Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime) Jayanta Baruah, revealed the assault took place earlier this year at the family’s residence in the Amsoi area under the Raha police station. The crime was reportedly committed while the convict’s wife, the child’s mother, was absent from the home.
The horrific abuse remained a secret for nearly five months until the mother observed signs of pregnancy in her daughter.
Following this discovery, she filed a complaint on June 3.
Police acted swiftly, registering a case and filing the chargesheet within a remarkably short period of just 28 days.
Authorities have confirmed that the young survivor has since given birth to a child.
