Hyderabad: Shunned by own family, 15-year-old fights alone to send dad to jail for rape

HYDERABAD: A 15-year-old girl has single-handedly sent her father to jail for repeatedly raping her and even gone against her own family to ensure that she gets justice. The survivor, a resident of Old City, had walked alone into a police station two years ago and filed an FIR against her father for his 'gande kaam'. At the time she was 13, but her tender age did not stop her from sticking to her guns and telling the truth.
None from her family helped her in the ordeal.
On Friday, a city court of the special judge for cases registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) convicted her father and sent him to rigorous imprisonment for life. The court also gave the girl Rs 5 lakh as compensation.

Lawyers and cops say that the survivor, who is the only girl in the family, displayed remarkable courage while facing a barrage of questions during the cross-examination by the defence counsel.
Additional public prosecutor A Rami Reddy said that although she was sexually assaulted, blamed, stigmatised and isolated by her own family, she faced the questions in court with gumption.
‘Despite facing immense pressure, girl stuck to statement against dad’
The girl, who was studying in a nearby school, walked into a police station one night in May 2022 and gave a graphic account of her father’s acts on multiple occasions and how the family was not supporting her.
Station house officer of Hussaini Alam, S Surender, told STOI the girl was referred to a Bharosa Centre for medical assistance and a case was registered on her complaint. Ever since she filed the case against her father, the girl has been staying at home run by the state child welfare committee.

During the trial, the accused and the family kept saying the girl had lodged a false complaint because her father made her do sit-ups for not helping her mother at home.
“Given her tender age, she cannot create such a false story of sexual assault against her own father unless some incident happened to her,” the court said in its verdict.
The accused also claimed his daughter wasn’t home on the purported date of the incident and he had gone to Odisha. But the court pointed out that he did not mention the date and purpose of his travel, how he travelled to Odisha and returned to Hyderabad, tickets or any person examined to support his claim. “He has not adduced any cogent or cre- dible evidence to prove that he was not in Hyderabad on the date of the offence and also that he did not commit the offence,” observed the court.
During the cross-examination, the defence counsel said the girl lodged the complaint at the behest of police and she had no clue about the location of the police station. The girl said her mother had once shown her the police station while taking her to school and she clearly remembered its location.
After completion of her cross-examination, the accused father made several attempts to dissuade her from affirming her earlier statements and she was recalled again for another cross-examination. Despite being put through immense pressure, the girl stuck to the statement that she gave to police two years ago.