Mumbai: A 52-year-old man and two others, including a woman, were sentenced to 10-year imprisonment each in a sexual assault case involving a minor. While the man was convicted for impregnating the 17-year-old, the other two were proven guilty of abetting the crime.
The main accused, Layis Khan, had sexually assaulted the minor for three to four hours in a room in 2019. The woman, Afrinbano Khan, 41, and the co-accused Mohd Ansari, 52, had taken the victim to meet Khan on the pretext of helping her to get a job of domestic help. The woman had even told the girl, a school dropout, that they can make money as the man gets possessed.
Thereafter, she was taken to a room. Afrinbano had prevented the teen from raising an alarm during the assault by threatening that she would make her obscene photo viral. During the assault, Khan also threatened the girl, saying he is shooting the abhorrent act and will use the video to defame her if she reveals her ordeal.
Victim Was Pregnant Following The Rape Attempt
A month-and-a-half after the incident, the victim informed her elder sister that she was not getting her periods. Later, a doctor advised a pregnancy test which revealed that she was seven-week pregnant. It was then that the girl revealed about the incident and a police complaint was lodged. Prosecutor Veena Shelar said the pregnancy was terminated and the DNA report, which showed that Khan was the biological father of the foetus, was presented as evidence before the court.
The special court, designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, convicted both the co-accused under section 17 (punishment for abetment) of the said Act.
