Man gets life imprisonment for raping mentally challenged woman in Palghar

Palghar: A court in Maharashtra's Palghar district has sentenced a man to life imprisonment for raping a 40-year-old mentally challenged woman in 2021.

Additional Sessions Judge A V Choudhari-Inamdar, in her order on Tuesday, held that the prosecution has successfully proved all the charges against the 45-year-old accused, Dashrath Maruti Sutar, a resident of Kev in Vikramgad area of the district.

Additional Public Prosecutor Arun Masram told the court that the victim was sleeping in her house in Manor area and her mother had gone out for work when the accused came there in December 2021 (date not specified).

The man threatened the woman and then raped and gagged her. He also warned her of dire consequences if she informed about the offence to anyone.

The woman was found pregnant in April 2022. Following a complaint by her mother, the Manor police registered an FIR on various charges, including rape, and arrested the accused.

Later, during a test, the DNA of the victim's foetus matched with that of the accused and this evidence was accepted by the court, the prosecutor said.

Along with the life sentence, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 11,000 on the accused and directed it to be paid to the victim as compensation, Masram said.

The court also directed for the case to be referred to the district legal services authority (DLSA) for additional compensation to the victim.

Investigation officer Rizwana Kakeri told reporters that the police found it very difficult to record the statement of the victim as she was mentally challenged.

The police used signed language and sought the help of the victim's mother to record the statement, she said.

As many as eight prosecution witnesses, including relatives of the victim, were examined in the court to prove the case beyond any reasonable doubt, the inspector added.