43-year-old man arrested for raping stepdaughter for 5 years in Surat

Surat: A 43-year-old man was arrested for allegedly raping his minor stepdaughter for several years in the jurisdiction of Khatodara police station.According to police, the accused had allegedly been sexually assaulting the girl for the past five years and warned her that he would kill her if she disclosed the matter to anyone. The incident came to light after the girl confided in her mother, following which the family approached the police and lodged a complaint.In her complaint, the victim's mother said she married the accused about six years ago after they met at their workplace. She had divorced her first husband before marrying him. After the marriage, her daughter also began living with them.Police said the accused began raping the girl around five years ago. The complaint states that he would assault her when her mother was not at home and repeatedly intimidated her to remain silent.About 10 days ago, when the family had travelled to Patan to attend a relative's wedding, he again raped the girl. Whenever she resisted, he allegedly warned that he would throw her and her mother out of the house and also issued death threats.Police have arrested the accused and launched further investigation. The victim had studied up to Class 9, while her mother and stepfather worked as labourers. The accused also has two daughters from his first marriage, who do not live with him.