VILLUPURAM: The fast track mahila court here on Wednesday acquitted the 34-year-old mother of a minor girl, who was impregnated after being repeatedly raped for months by the mother’s paramour. The paramour was given a life term, and fined Rs 1 lakh.
In the closing remarks of the verdict, the court also made a recommendation to the State to give the victim a compensation of Rs 3 lakh, towards her educational expenses. The fine of Rs 1 lakh, to be paid by the offender, would also go to the girl.
The incident, that shocked the district had happened in 2016. According to the case proceedings, Lourdh Mary (34), of Navarkulam village near Vanur, married Saravanan, of Gorimedu in Puducherry 10 years ago. They had a daughter.
Soon after the girl’s birth, Lourdh Mary reportedly began an affair with her husband’s friend named Chandra Mohan (38), who also belonged to Gorimedu. When he came to know of this, a humiliated Saravanan left the village.
Though they did not get married, Lourdh Mary and Saravanan moved in together. Lourdh Mary’s family decided to accept the relationship, and the baby girl was sent to Navurkulam to grow up with her grandmother.
According to the victim, Chandra Mohan abused her sexually whenever he visited the grandmother’s house along with Lourdh Mary. He would take her to isolated spots and molest her after threatening to kill her if she broke her silence. Nobody suspected anything to be amiss as the child was below 10 years of age. According to the victim, the abuse increased after she turned 11.
When the girl was in class 6, Chandra Mohan reportedly forced Lourdh Mary to bring her to live with them. He showed concern on the girl’s upkeep and claimed that she could be better taken care of if she was living with them. Lourdh Mary complied and the girl was brought to Puducherry.
There, Chandra Mohan abused her for nearly six months, this time using sedatives. The man would force the girl to drink spiked cool drinks and then rape her when unconscious, according to the victim.
On November 23, 2016, Lourdh Mary gave the girl a tablet as her monthly cycles were not regular. The girl soon complained of severe stomach ache and had to be rushed to the JIPMER hospital in Puducherry. The doctors here found that the 11-year-old girl was pregnant, and promptly informed the Dhanvanthri Nagar police station.
After passing through the hands of the Auroville police, the case was handed over to the Kotakuppam All Women Police Station.
Chandra Mohan and Lourdh Mary were booked under section 6 of POCSO Act 2012, to be writ with IPC section 313. The case was being heard at the fast track mahila court here.
On Wednesday, magistrate Juliet Pushpa acquitted Lourdh Mary from the case while sentencing Chandra Mohan to rigorous life imprisonment. He was also asked to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh, which would be handed over to the victim.