Kerala Man sentenced to cumulative 51yrs imprisonment for rape of minor stepdaughter
Idukki (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Wednesday convicted and sentenced a 40-year-old man to a cumulative 51 years imprisonment for the rape of his then 17-year-old stepdaughter in 2018 at their residence in Munnar here.
Devikulam Fast Track Special Court (POCSO) judge Sirajudheen P A sentenced the accused to varying jail terms for offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the IPC for a total of 51 years, special public prosecutor (SPP) Smiju K Das said.
However, the man will serve 20 years in prison as sentences have to be served concurrently and that was the highest jail term announced by the judge, the SPP said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.55 lakh on the convict which shall be given to the victim, the prosecutor said.
The court also recommended compensation to be provided to the victim as per the Victim Compensation Scheme and give a direction for the same to the District Legal Services Authority, Idukki-Thodupuzha, the SPP said.
The girl was raped on three separate days in November 2018 when the victim's mother was not at home, the prosecutor said.
The stepfather, who was 34-years-old at the time of the incident, had also intimidated the victim by threatening to kill her and her mother if she disclosed to anybody about the crime, the SPP said.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
