The Indore district court has sentenced a 38-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping his minor daughter.
The 14-year-old girl, a Class 8 student, got pregnant after being repeatedly raped by her father and had to drop out of school.
Additional Sessions Judge Varsha Sharma convicted the accused (identity not disclosed) on Wednesday for rape under section 376 (rape) of the IPC and also under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The accused shall stay in jail till death, the court said.
“Normally, a father is expected to protect his minor offspring from all problems faced in the society. In spite of this, the convict continued to rape his 14-year-old daughter by crossing all limits,” the court noted.
As a result, the victim gave birth to a child at an age when she should be playing. This could have proved fatal for her, it added.
The judge also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on the accused.
She directed that the amount be given to the victim as compensation.
The offence came to light in March this year when the girl complained of stomach ache and was found to be pregnant.
She could not abort the child as doctors said it could threaten her life.
The girl told the court that she did not complain about the rape because her mother suffered from low blood pressure, a prosecution official said.
If she revealed what was going on, she feared it would affect her mother’s health, the victim said in her statement.