Court awards 10-year jail term to youth for raping maid

A youth has been sentenced to ten years imprisonment by a Delhi court for repeatedly raping a girl, who later became pregnant and delivered a child.
The court convicted 24-year-old Varun for raping the girl, who was working as a maid, while relying on the "trustworthy" testimony of the victim and also on the DNA report which said that he was the biological father of her child.
"I am of the considered opinion that as far as involvement of accused Varun in the commission of offence under section 376 (rape) of the IPC is concerned, the same is sufficiently established by cogent and reliable evidence...Prosecution has been able to bring the guilt home to the accused Varun beyond shadows of all reasonable doubts..," Additional Sessions Judge M C Gupta said.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Varun, who was working as a mason here.
According to the prosecution, Varun repeatedly raped the 21-year-old victim, who gave birth to a girl child on June 27, 2010, on false promise of marriage from May 2009 to May 2010.
The girl, who hailed from Jharkhand, had told the police that she was working as a maid at a house in Rohini here and Varun raped her on false promise of marriage and when she became pregnant, he fled away.

She had said that Varun was working in the same housing society where she used to reside and she got acquainted with him.

The police registered a case on the basis of the statement of the girl and Varun surrendered before it in June 2010.
During the trial, Varun denied the allegations against him, saying he was falsely implicated in the case. His lawyer also argued that the girl's testimony was not reliable.
The court, however, convicted him while relying on the DNA report and also on testimonies of the prosecution witnesses.
"The testimony of the prosecutrix, on careful perusal and analysis is found to be clear, natural, cogent, convincing, trustworthy and inspiring confidence...There is nothing in her statement to suggest that she had any animus against the accused (Varun) to falsely implicate him in the case," it said.