180-year jail for Kerala woman, partner for rape of 12-year-old child

KOZHIKODE: A Kerala woman and her partner from an extramarital affair were sentenced Tuesday to 180 years' rigorous imprisonment each and fined Rs 11.7 lakh apiece for repeated rape of her 12-year-old daughter, crimes that prosecutors said took place over two years with the mother's complicity.

Judge Ashraf AM of special Pocso court convicted them under multiple sections of Pocso Act - each carrying 40 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2 lakh, and some sections of IPC and Juvenile Justice Act. Failure to pay the fine will add 20 months to their terms. "This would be the severest punishment ever awarded to a woman for abetment in Pocso case," special public prosecutor Somasekharan A said.


The woman reportedly befriended the man while living with her husband and daughter in Thiruvananthapuram. She later "eloped with him" and began living in rented houses in Palakkad and Malappuram between Dec 2019 and Oct 2021, taking the child along. During this period, the man repeatedly raped the girl while the mother allegedly abetted the abuse. The girl was allegedly forced to drink alcohol. Prosecutors said the woman also threatened the child into silence, telling her "a chip has been implanted in her brain and they would know if she revealed the ordeal". The court ordered the fine be paid to the girl and directed district legal services authority to grant her additional aid under the survivor assistance scheme. tnn


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