A 28-year-old man has been jailed for 10 years for raping his niece,with the trial court saying that the offence turns all the more grave and despicable when committed by the victim's relative and calls for a deterrent punishment. "Ordinarily,the offence of rape is grave by its nature. More so,when the perpetrator of the crime is a relative,it is all the more grave and warrants a strong deterrent judicial hand," said Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Tayal,observing that the offence of rape destroys the soul of the victim. Refusing to take a lenient view of Dabri resident Santosh,who had raped his 11-year-old niece,the court said,"The convict committed an abominable and inhuman act of raping his brother-in-law's daughter. The lustful act of Santosh has left an indelible scar not only physically but also emotionally on the victim,scarring her entire life." According to the prosecution,the case dated back to July 11,2009,when Santosh asked the innocent girl,playing near her house with her friends,to come along with his house to help him in counting broom sticks that he used to make along with her father and sell them. It said after reaching his home,Santosh stuffed some cloth in the girl's mouth and raped her. The girl later narrated the incident to her mother who informed the police and got a case registered against Santosh. During the trial,Santosh contended that the victim's parents had implicated him in a false case because once he had caught her mother in a compromising position with another man and they wanted to take revenge from him. The court refused to accept his contentions,saying it is unacceptable in Indian context that a girl's parents would foist a false case against anyone to settle personal scores. Parents would always be aware of the risk associated with the marriage of a girl who is subjected to sexual intercourse. They know if such an incident becomes public,it would be difficult for them to find a suitable match for their daughter from a respectable family," the judge said.
