Father molests daughter for 10 years, POCSO court sentences him to RI till death

Thiruvananthapuram: A man who molested his daughter for 10 years from the age of five was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment (RI) till death by the Thiruvananthapuram POCSO court here on Wednesday. The judgement was pronounced by Thiruvananthapuram POCSO District Judge M P Shibu. The court ordered sentences of imprisonment till death three times.

The court directed the District Legal Services Authority, Thiruvananthapuram to provide compensation to the survivor. An amount of Rs 1.5 lakh shall be released to the survivor upon payment of fine of Rs 1.9 lakh.

Public prosecutor Kattaikonam J K Ajith Prasad who appeared for the prosecution said that the conviction was done within a year of registering the case. "The girl's mother died when she was one-and-a-half-year-old years old. Her father remarried and the girl stayed with the father and step-mother. Her ordeal began when she was just five years old and the girl was repeatedly molested by her father for 10 years," said Ajith Prasad. The family maintained no contact with relatives and the girl couldn't tell anyone about this.

Years-long trauma she suffered at home came to light during the SSLC examination in 2023. When she returned home after the English examination, she was again molested by her father. He had entered her room while she was changing her uniform. There was no one else at home. The girl was very depressed when she turned up for her next examination.

It was one of her teachers who noticed that the girl was quite disturbed on the day of her examination. She took her to a room and spoke to her and then the girl opened up about what she had gone through since she was a class 1 student.

The child welfare committee was informed. A case was registered at Aruvikkara police station. The girl was shifted to the care home at Poojapura. During the trial, the man denied all accusations and even tried using his second wife to build a defence. Although the woman was not at home on the day of English examination, she initially said that she was there at home and nothing happened as the girl claimed.

The prosecution cross-examined the woman and asked about dates when examinations on other subjects were held. The woman couldn't reply. When pressed why she specifically remembered the English examination, she couldn't furnish a plausible reply.

The court was convinced of the crime, and the man was sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment. The convict, aged 37, is a daily wage labourer. 26 witnesses were examined as part of the case, and 30 documents were submitted as evidence. Advocate V D Bindu also appeared for the prosecution.