TIRUNELVELI: In a horrific case of incest, a man and his son were arrested for sexual assault on their minor family members. While the man abused his elder daughter for nearly a year, the son forced himself on his other sister.
The accused has a speech and hearing impaired wife and three children, including the 16-year-old son, who is a school dropout. After committing marital rape in the presence of the children, he went on to abuse his 12-year-old daughter, according to the District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) officials. The girl is now anaemic and traumatised.
She is in Class VI at a private school, while her younger sister, aged 9, is in Class III in a in a local panchayat union school. Their brother had preyed on the youngest sibling.
The incident came to the light after District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Dev Ananth was informed about the abnormal behaviour of the nine-year-old, who had refused to eat food in school. From the girl, the officials learnt that her 47-year old father, who is a mason, used to force himself on their deaf and dumb mother in their presence.
Speaking to Express, Ananth said, “The accused seems to an alcoholic and reportedly visits his home once in a week. Apart from threatening and raping his wife, he also has been sexually assaulting his elder daughter for months. Unfortunately, his elder son learnt bad behaviour from his dad and started abusing his youngest sister in recent days.”
DCPU officials took the victims to the Tirunvelveli Medical College Hospital where they underwent various medical tests. The elder daughter was also put through a HIV test, as the accused had sexual relationships outside marriage.
While all the three victims have been sent to Saranalayam, an NGO in Tirunelveli, the boy has been kept at Government Observation Home for counseling. The main accused has been arrested under Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and the district Child Welfare Committee (CWC) will hereafter probe the case.
How it came out
The incest came to light after the headmaster of a local school the girls weren’t studying in got to learn about it from locals. He immediately shared the information with District Child Protection Officer Dev Ananth