24-year-old gets 20 years in jail for raping minor girl, impregnating her

Rajkot: A 24-year-old man was convicted for raping a minor after his relative, who is serving life imprisonment for raping the same girl in 2020, dashed off a letter to the Pocso court stating that the former had also sexually assaulted her after his arrest.On Wednesday, additional district judge AM Shaikh of Dhoraji court sentenced Taimul (name changed) to 20 years imprisonment, even as the 16-year-old girl had turned hostile during the trial. According to case details, Taimul’s relative Iqbal (name changed) was the girl’s brother-in-law (sister’s husband), and he raped her multiple times when she had gone to live at their house in 2020. She also gave birth to a girl when she was 16. Iqbal was arrested after a social worker informed the police, and he has been serving a life sentence since March 2023. Meanwhile, the girl, driven out of the house by her sister, came in contact with Iqbal’s relative Taimul (24), and she started living with him. The girl told police that when Meman got to know, he threatened to kill Taimul if she did not sever relations with him. In Jan 2023, Meman, who was then facing trial, shot off a letter to the court, stating that after his arrest, Taimul had raped the girl. He informed the court that the girl had given a stillbirth and the newborn was buried in a crematorium in Upleta. The court took cognizance of the letter and ordered a police investigation. The Upleta police registered an offence and exhumed the body on Jan 24, 2023. Taimul was booked for rape, and the police also conducted a DNA test of the foetus, which proved the identity of both the minor mother and Taimul. Additional public prosecutor Kartikey Parekh argued during the trial, "The victim was a minor and a mother of the child out of rape. The accused took advantage of her homeless situation by promising to marry her.”During the investigation, police found that Taimul had kept the girl in various areas of Rajkot after Dec 2020. They started living like husband and wife. The girl was hospitalized after seven months of pregnancy. In Rajkot Civil Hospital, she stated her age as 19 years and identified Taimul as her husband. However, it was a stillbirth.During the trial, the girl told the court that she had consensual relations with Taimul and they both were engaged to get married. She also stated that Taimul saved her from committing suicide. The survivor is currently 19 years old and married to another man.

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