The court sentenced the man to death to set an example in society. (Representational)
A court in Gujarat's Kheda district on Tuesday awarded the death sentence to a 28-year-old man for repeatedly raping his stepdaughter and impregnating her.
Special POCSO judge PP Purohit at Nadiad city also ordered the man to pay Rs 2 lakh to the survivor as compensation.
An FIR was registered against the man in March last year under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
As per the prosecution, the accused repeatedly raped the girl, who was then aged 11 years and 8 months, for over five months and threatened her not to talk about the sexual assault. The crime came to light only after the girl became pregnant.
Public Prosecutor Gopal Thakor said the prosecution produced 12 witnesses and 44 documents, as evidence, before the court to establish the crime.
Considering the evidence and the seriousness of the crime, the court sentenced the man to death to set an example in society and curb such crimes, Mr Thakor said.
The court awarded him the death sentence under section 376 (A)(B) of the IPC (for raping a girl under 12 years of age) and sections 5 (J)(2) (making child pregnant) and 5 (L) (committing rape more than once) of POCSO Act, he said.
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