Daijiworld Media Network - Rajkot

Rajkot, Feb 2: Rajkot Rural Police on Saturday arrested a man for allegedly raping his daughter repeatedly over the past several years. The survivor is now an adult. Police officials said another FIR is likely to be registered against the accused on Sunday for a similar offence against his teenage niece.

According to police, the accused works as an electronics repair technician and was affected by polio at the age of seven months. He lived in a joint family with his wife, who is suffering from advanced-stage breast cancer, his daughter, and the wife and daughter of his younger brother, who works in another town.

Rajkot Rural Superintendent of Police Vijay Singh Gurjar said the case came to light after the accused filed a missing person complaint for his daughter at the jurisdictional police station on January 3. Initial efforts to trace the woman were unsuccessful.

The accused later approached senior police officials, following which the Local Crime Branch (LCB) was assigned the case. The woman was traced on January 28 at an apartment in Rajkot city. During questioning, she told police that she had left home voluntarily and did not wish to return.

Further investigation revealed that the woman had allegedly been subjected to continuous sexual assault by her father over several years. She also alleged that the accused had sexually assaulted her minor cousin. Police said the woman had earlier informed her cousin’s parents, but her claims were not believed.

SP Gurjar said joint questioning was conducted to verify the allegations, following which the accused was booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Police said further investigation is underway and a separate FIR is expected to be filed in connection with the alleged assault on the teenage niece.