A 53-year-old Bombay high court lawyer has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act court for marrying a 15-year-old in 2015 and repeatedly raping her.
The accused, also father to a 15-year-old girl, was arrested last week and sent to judicial custody by the special court on Thursday. The grandparents of the minor, who had allegedly forced her into the marriage, have been also named as accused and are wanted in the case.
The accused married the minor after his first wife’s death in 2014. The complaint was filed by the now 17-yearold minor on December 13.
In the remand application submitted before the court, the cops said the minor livedin a village with her grandparents and visited her parents during school vacations. In the remand plea, cops further stated that in 2015, when she was in Class IX, her grandmother received a proposal from the accused through another woman in the village.
Cops said the minor had refused to marry the man citing her age and wish to complete her education. It was further alleged that during their first meeting, she was shocked to see that the accused was not a young boy but a much older man.
The child was allegedly forced to marry the accused despite her protests. Cops said the grandmother tried to convince the girl by citing her mother’s illness and saying that there would be no one to look after her in future.
Cops further alleged that the accused transferred a six-acre land in the village in the minor’s name in lieu of the marriage. They also said that though her father was against the marriage, he remained silent due to her mother’s illness. On April 21, 2015, the accused allegedly married the victim in the presence of around 40 relatives. Cops said the victim was brought to the city where the accused began to sexually abuse the victim despite her protests.
The remand further states that this July, the accused began to suspect the minor’s “character” following which he allegedly physically abused her and confined her to the house. The remand plea states that despite being a lawyer and an educated man who was well aware of the law, the lawyer married and had sexual relations with a minor. Cops suspect that the accused had lured the victim’s grandparents by providing them with some incentive.