Tripura State Rifles jawan awarded imprisonment till death for raping daughter

Agartala: A POCSO court in West Tripura convicted a 55-year-old Tripura State Rifles (TSR) jawan of raping his daughter and sentenced him to imprisonment until death.

Special Judge (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) V P Debbarma also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict.

After a long hearing and deposition of 22 witnesses, the Justice Debbarma convicted TSR jawan Monaranjan Sarma of raping his minor daughter in July 2017 at Nagicherra, south-eastern outskirt of Agartala under section 376 (2) (F) of Indian Penal Code and section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Special Public Prosecutor (POCSO) Pulak Debnath said Sarma is the father of two daughters and his elder daughter had been married before the incident took place.

According to reports, in the evening of July 29, 2017 he suddenly grabbed his younger daughter, who was aged 14 years then, in the presence of his wife and mother. He pushed his wife and mother out of the home when they resisted him and tried to rescue the girl.

The women of the house remained silent for that day thinking of the girl’s future.

The victim was not even taken to hospital despite her injuries.

The next evening, when Manoranjan made a similar attempt on his daughter, his mother and wife attacked him and alarmed the neighbours who caught him and handed him to the police.

During investigation police revealed that Manoranjan had been suspended from TSR earlier also for immoral conduct.

He had been isolated from his extended family on allegations of bad character and finally settled in a plot of his in-laws at Nagicherra with his aged mother, wife and two daughters.

The court convicted him under section 42 of POCSO Act and sentenced Manoranjan to suffer rigorous imprisonment for the remaining part of his natural life and, also pay a fine of Rs 50,000 to the victim and her mother as compensation. (UNI)