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A fast-track trial court in Chandigarh on Thursday, 2 November, sentenced two brothers to life imprisonment for raping their 10-year-old niece, reported Hindustan Times. The minor rape victim delivered the baby on 17 August after the Supreme Court rejected a plea seeking termination of her pregnancy, reported PTI.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Poonam R Joshi, while pronouncing the quantum of sentence, also imposed a fine of Rs 3.05 lakh each in the case.
"The court today (2 November) pronounced life imprisonment for both the brothers in the rape case," said cousel Manjit Singh, who represented the elder brother. Public prosecutor Atul Sethi told PTI:
They will stay in jail till death.
“This is a very good decision and the verdict will be a lesson for those who indulge in such heinous crimes,” pubic prosecutor Atul Sethi said.
He added said the victim would receive a compensation of Rs 6 lakh, while Rs 10,000 would go to the state.
On 31 October, the court had held the maternal uncles guilty of raping the girl. They had been charged under Section 376(2)(f)(i) (rape on a woman when she is under 12 years of age) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The crime came to light in July when the girl was taken to a hospital after complaining of stomach ache, and was found to be over 30 weeks pregnant.
On 28 July, the Supreme Court dismissed a plea seeking its nod to terminate the 32-week pregnancy after taking note of a medical report that stated abortion was neither good for the girl nor for the foetus.
The child was told by her family and the doctors that she had a stone in her stomach that had to be removed. It was earlier suspected that her elder uncle had fathered the baby who was delivered through C-section at a government hospital here.
The twist in the case came when a fresh DNA test showed the younger maternal uncle to be the father of the child.
The elder uncle’s DNA sample had not matched the newborn following which suspicion fell on the younger uncle, who too had been accused of rape by the child.
The police had maintained that both her uncles had sexually exploited her. Earlier, the police had said the girl was repeatedly raped by her elder maternal uncle for several months.
(With inputs from PTI)
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