Kannur: A fast-track court in Kannur's Taliparamba on Tuesday sentenced a 45-year-old man to double life imprisonment for the rest of his life for sexually assaulting and impregnating his 13-year-old daughter.

Special Judge Rajesh R also slapped a fine of Rs 15 lakh and sentenced the father, a restaurateur in Qatar, to another 47 years under three different charges for outraging the modesty of a woman and repeated penetrative sexual assault.

The case, dating back to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic year, had several twists and turns and kept the police and prosecution on edge, the public prosecutor for sex crimes against children, Adv Sherymol Jose, told Onmanorama.

In March 2020, the man, whose family runs restaurants in Qatar, came home for a vacation. As per the COVID-19 protocol, he remained quarantined on the second floor of his house. During this time, his 13-year-old eldest daughter was entrusted with the responsibility of serving him food and feeding the doves she kept on that floor.

The father forced himself on the girl repeatedly during those days, said Adv Sherymol Jose. "The abuse continued for seven months till he returned to Qatar in October," she said.

After the father left, the mother noticed that the girl had missed her periods, said the prosecutor. The girl was also feeling dizzy and had fainted at home. The mother's younger sister took the girl to a neighbourhood doctor who gave her medicines to help regularise the periods. When that did not help, she was taken to a hospital, where she was advised to undergo a scan. "There, the doctors discovered that she was five months pregnant," the advocate said.

The hospital immediately called in the police from Taliparamba station. Initially, the girl accused her 13-year-old cousin, her father's sister's son, of assaulting her. "She cooked up a story saying the boy showed her some porn videos and assaulted her," the prosecutor said.

The police had their doubts because her story did not add up. That night, the girl was shifted to her father's younger brother's house. "The same night, she told her uncle's wife the truth, that she was abused by her father," said the prosecutor.

The police registered an FIR. "They tactfully contacted her father, telling him the girl was unwell and needed him at home," she said. Upon his arrival, the police arrested him. Inspector Sathyanathan investigated the case and submitted the charge sheet, and the accused came out on bail.

The police conducted a DNA profiling of the embryo, which matched the girl's father. During the trial, Ajeesh Thekkatavan, Assistant Director (Chemistry) at the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory in Kochi, provided a detailed explanation of the DNA test to the court, highlighting how it identified the culprit. "However, the accused blamed his younger brother, claiming he plotted this to seize his property," the prosecutor said. The court dismissed his version. The girl's mother also became hostile and testified in defence of her husband.

After the trial, the judge announced that the verdict would be delivered in July 2023. As the judgment date approached, the accused jumped bail and went into hiding.

"The police suspected he had escaped to Nepal, and there were also suspicions he was in Coimbatore," said Adv Sherymol Jose.

On January 5, Taliparamba police were tipped off by the man's neighbours that he had come home and had been living in the house with his wife for almost two weeks. The police swooped down and picked him up immediately and produced him before the special fast-track court on January 6. The same day, the court pronounced him guilty under five counts of sexual assault.

On January 7, the court sentenced him to two life imprisonment for the remainder of his life under Section 5 (n) and 5 (j) (ii) of the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for penetrative sexual assault by the father and making the child pregnant.

The court sentenced him to 20 years for penetrative sexual assault under Section 3 (a) and 20 years for repeated penetrative sexual assault under Section 5 (l) of the POCSO Act. The court also sentenced him to another seven years for outraging the modesty of a woman under Section 354 of the IPC. The fine of Rs 15 lakh, if realised, should be given to the girl, the court ruled.

In the initial days of the case, the mother had supported the girl and approached the High Court to terminate the pregnancy. "Based on the court's order, the girl underwent an abortion," said the prosecutor.

However, since the day the case was registered, the girl has been under the government's institutional care in a different district.

After the trial, the mother moved the High Court again seeking the girl's custody. The Children's Home officials vehemently opposed the plea considering the woman had turned hostile. "Had she gained custody, she could have influenced the girl before the judgment was delivered," said Adv Sherymol Jose.

The girl is doing well, away from her family, and is now in Class 12, the prosecutor said.