On Sunday, the police detained a man for raping a 13-year-old girl in the Limbayat area of Surat in Gujarat, reported The Times of India.
As per reports, the accused has been identified as one 25-year-old Shafiq Shaikh. He had met the minor girl at a family gathering and began luring her into his trap by offering her ‘gifts.’ Shaikh had also ‘promised’ to marry the victim, despite being well-aware that he is already married and the girl is a minor. He had repeatedly raped the 13-year-old girl for about 6 months. Shaikh, who worked as a labourer, had made the victim pregnant after subjecting her to continued sexual abuse.
The minor girl (whose name has been withheld in accordance with Supreme Court guidelines) is the cousin sister of the accused’s wife. The victim’s mother and the mother-in-law of the accused are sisters. Reportedly, a month ago, the victim’s family had facilitated the abortion of her unborn child. He also intimidated the victim’s family into silence with his threats. As such, they initially did not report the crime to the police.
Accused booked under POCSO Act
The victim’s family had tried to keep the accused away and prevented the girl from coming in close contact with the accused. However, Shaikh soon began to threaten the family with dire consequences. After being tired of the incoming threats, the minor girl’s family registered a complaint with the police.
An official, informed about the matter, said, “On coming to know about her pregnancy, the family got the foetus aborted around a month ago. They did not inform the police then but after threats by the accused, they approached the cops.” A case was thus registered under relevant Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
