Thane crime: Man booked for raping 17-year-old daughter

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An official on Monday said that the police have registered a case against a man for allegedly raping his 17-year-old daughter in Maharashtra's Thane district, reported news agency PTI.

In May 2022, when the family was residing at a village in Uttar Pradesh's Gonda district, the 40-year-old man raped his daughter when she was asleep, the official from Shil-Daighar police station said while sharing an update on the Thane crime, reported PTI.

He warned her of dire consequences if she informed about it to anyone. The accused also beat up his wife when she questioned him about the offence.

When some of the relatives enquired about the crime, the accused dismissed it as a false allegation by his daughter, the official said while sharing an update on the Thane crime, reported PTI.

Three months back, the family shifted to Shil-Phata in Thane, where the man allegedly again raped his daughter a couple of times, he said, reported PTI.

The victim on Sunday approached the police and lodged a complaint.

Based on the complaint, the police on Sunday registered a case against the accused on provisions for rape and other charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the official said while sharing an update on the Thane crime.

A probe was on into the case.

Court acquits man accused of raping 17-year-old girl

A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a 26-year-old man in a case of kidnapping and raping a teenage girl in 2018, observing that the physical relations between the accused and the victim appear to be consensual, reported PTI.

Special Judge (POCSO Act cases) Ruby U Malvankar, in the order on September 21, said the victim was not a child at the relevant time and therefore, offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act do not attract, it said, reported PTI.

The prosecution has failed to prove the charges against the accused, who needs to be given the benefit of the doubt, said the order, a copy of the order was made available on Saturday.

The prosecution told the court that on April 11, 2018, the victim, then aged 17, went missing from a place where she was working as a domestic help in Thane district.

A police complaint was later filed by her father.

The victim was traced to a slum colony at Uttan in the Bhayander area of the district. Based on her statement, the police then registered an FIR against the accused under legal provisions for kidnapping, rape, giving threats and provisions of the POCSO Act, reported PTI.

The counsel for the accused contested the case.

The court noted the victim claimed she was taken to the house of a relative of the accused and raped multiple times. However, her testimony revealed a consensual relationship and a desire to marry the accused, it said, reported PTI.

The medical evidence on record shows there were sexual relations between the victim and the accused, the court said.

(With inputs from PTI)