A 55-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly sexually abusing his 16-year-old daughter since 2016, when she was seven years old. The police reported that the girl finally gathered the courage to lodge a complaint against her father, claiming she could no longer bear the repeated sexual abuse and threats at their residence.
Background of the Case
API Pandurang Ghagare of Khandeshwar police station stated that the girl filed a complaint after enduring years of abuse. The accused owns a hardware store in New Panvel. His wife has been separated from him for the past five years due to frequent domestic quarrels. Consequently, the girl, her elder brother, and sister lived with their father. The girl did not disclose the sexual assaults until she turned 16.
Legal Action Taken
The accused was booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for offenses including punishment for rape, aggravated rape, committing rape repeatedly on the same woman, committing rape on a girl under 16 years of age, voluntarily causing hurt, and criminal intimidation, along with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
On Friday, the arrested accused was produced before the Panvel district sessions court for the Pocso Act case and was remanded to police custody until Sunday. Thereafter, he will be sent to jail custody at Taloja Central Prison.
