After being on the run for 11 months, a man has been arrested in Cachar district of Assam for allegedly raping his 16-year-old daughter and impregnating her, police sources told NDTV.
The incident dates to 2022 but came to light earlier this year in January after the teenager lodged a complaint accusing her 41-year-old father of rape and death threats if she dared to open her mouth.
According to the official complaint, the girl was sexually assaulted by her father on multiple occasions. Three years ago, she got pregnant.
At around seven months of pregnancy, her health deteriorated severely, and she confided in her aunt. When the relative took up the matter with the accused, she was allegedly instructed to take the girl to a doctor. The man then sent her daughter to a relative's house in Silchar.
A few weeks later, the victim gave birth to a baby girl, who was temporarily left in the care of the relatives.
During this period, the accused father married another woman, and the stepmother reportedly refused to allow the victim back into their home.
The girl, according to the police complaint, once attempted to die by suicide but stopped thinking of her newborn. She later boarded a train to Guwahati, where she fell ill and was rescued by the Railway Police. The girl was subsequently transferred to a government-recognised shelter home in Silchar.
Two years later, on January 18 this year, the girl, along with the help of the Child Helpline, registered a complaint against her father. The girl, in her complaint, revealed that her father threatened her with dire consequences, including killing her younger brother, if she ever talked about the sexual assault with anyone.
A case was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The accused had been on the run for the past 11 months before the cops managed to apprehend him on Monday night.
The accused father was produced before a court on Tuesday and remanded to judicial custody.
