The Bombay High Court has confirmed the life imprisonment awarded by a lower court to a man who raped his step daughter thrice after threatening her to keep quiet or face death by throwing her under a train.
The judgement was delivered recently by justices V K Tahilramani and Sadhna Jadhav who said they were convinced with the evidence adduced by the prosecution to show that Devaji Rama Padave had indeed raped his 13-year-old daughter.
The first time the step father raped her was on her birthday on December 7, 2001 at their home in suburban Vikhroli. She tried to shout but he slapped her and tied her mouth with a cloth besides threatening her to push her under a train if she disclosed this to anyone.
The second incident took place on January 3, 2002, when her mother saw the crime being committed on her daughter. But she chose to keep quiet as she too was threatened. On the third occasion, the step father again raped the victim and this time his minor son was witness to this crime.
The mother of the prosecutrix was a widow and used to stay with the accused from whom she begot three children.
Hence, she and her children were dependent on Padave because of which they kept quiet.
The victim used to go to church regularly where she had come in contact with a lady, Felcy Fernandes, in whom she confided and told her the miserable story of rape committed by her step father. Fernandes, in turn, took her to police and a case was registered against the accused on April 20, four months after she was raped on the first occasion.
Before the FIR was lodged, the victim had to undergo a test which proved that she was a minor and her age was 13.