Indore. The district court in Indore has sentenced the stepfather of a 13-year-old girl to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping her and pressuring her to convert. A prosecution department official gave this information on Monday. Special Judge Surekha Mishra convicted the 26-year-old stepfather of the minor girl on Saturday (June 1) under the relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO Act) and Madhya Pradesh Religious Freedom Act.
The court, along with sentencing the accused to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, also imposed a fine of Rs 59,000 on him and ordered that the victim girl be paid a compensation of Rs 1 lakh from the government treasury. The special judge said in his verdict that if the punishment of the stepfather of the minor girl who committed the heinous act of raping her is considered leniently, it will have an adverse effect on society and people will lose faith in relationships.
The prosecution officer said that a 26-year-old man in Azad Nagar area raped his stepdaughter on December 6, 2022 after finding her alone at home. According to the officer, the stepfather was also pressuring his minor daughter to change her religion. He said that seven witnesses were presented in the court by Special Public Prosecutor Sushila Rathore to prove the crime against the victim girl’s father.
The officer said that after the accused, a minor boy also allegedly raped the girl and both of them threatened the girl that if she told anyone about the incident, they would kill her. He said that the case of alleged rape against the minor boy is pending in the Juvenile Court.