As the girl neared puberty, she was repeatedly raped and physically abused by her father. A local court on Friday sentenced a 38-year-old man to 13 years rigorous imprisonment for raping his 12-year-old daughter repeatedly over a year and cutting off her right forefinger.
The man, a native of Vairengte village in northern Mizoram, was accused by the girl’s school teacher of committing the crimes and police subsequently arrested him following the teacher’s complaints.
The convicted rapist and his wife had separated when the girl was a small child, and the wife had been looking after their child. When she was seven years old, however, the man asked that he start taking care of the girl and his ex-wife agreed.
Additional District and Sessions Judge Lalbiakzama convicted the man to 10 years for the rape and three years for the physical abuse. The judge, however, showed leniency because of the man’s ill-health.