Hyderabad: A young woman who was raped and impregnated by her own father has emerged triumphant not just in her legal battle against her father but also in life, by finding a job at a private school and getting married to a young man of her choice.
The woman underwent horrific abuse at the hands of her father — being raped as a child several times and getting impregnated by him at the age of 17, and subsequently being made to undergo an abortion. Her mother had left years ago, leaving her and her younger brother with their father.
With the support of her younger brother and a stepsister, all of whom were sexually assaulted by their father, the survivor decided to wage a legal battle against him by defying all odds, including pressure from family members.
At the time of registration of the case in 2023, the survivor was aged 17, her stepsister was 15, and her brother was 14.
During the trial, the convict, a tailor by profession, claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case and said his daughter was impregnated by her boyfriend. He also contended in court that the survivor was in the habit of stealing large amounts of cash from the house, and when admonished, she lodged a complaint of rape against him.
He claimed that even after filing the case, the girl met him in prison a couple of times and argued that if she had any grievance, she would not have met him there. He also argued that he allowed the girl to sell his laptop for some money, according to a police official.
In response, the court observed that there was no one to lend a helping hand to the girl, and it became difficult for her to lead her day-to-day life. She was left with no option. In the pressurising circumstances, it appears that as her father called her, she went to jail and met him.
“But just for these reasons, we cannot find any fault with her in meeting her father in jail, and it cannot be a ground that he has not committed any crime,” noted the court.
He also challenged the testimonies of his two other children, saying that they gave witness against him at the behest of his elder daughter. However, the court, after examining their statements and the circumstantial evidence related to their statements, deemed their evidence to be true.
He alleged that his three children made a case against him after he drove them out of the home due to their bad behaviour. The court said that he could not substantiate this claim with evidence and pronounced him guilty on April 4, sentencing him to rigorous imprisonment for the rest of his natural life.
