Guwahati: A 35-year-old man hailing from Assam has been sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment by a POCSO court for raping his 14-year-old stepdaughter repeatedly in West Kameng district in Arunachal Pradesh.
The accused has been identified as Bhawani Chetry and is a resident of Biswanath district in Assam.
POCSO Special Judge, Tageng Padoh also imposed a fine of Rs. 5000 on Thursday. Interestingly, the accused had been imprisoned for a year under Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
According to officials, Chetry's sentence will be extended to another six months, if he fails to pay the fine.
The victim was allegedly raped three times between March 2020 and April 2021 by the accused in three different locations in Kelengteng village in the Lungla police station area and near Sangetsar Lake in Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh.
As per reports, the girl had been intimidated by her step-father and he had allegedly threatened to kill the girl, if she complained about the incident to her mother.
However, the victim apprised her friends about the wrongdoing of her step-father following which her friends alerted the residential school authorities about the incident.
In April 2021, Chetry was detained on the basis of the victims complaint.
Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act, 2012 is defined as "An Act to protect children from offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment, and pornography and provide for the establishment of Special Courts for the trial of such offences.
It was passed in 2012 under the Ministry of Women and child development.
The Act was amended in 2019, to make provisions for enhancement of punishments for various offences so as to deter the perpetrators and ensure safety, security and dignified childhood for a child.
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