Man sent to judicial custody for 'raping' minor stepdaughter

A man, accused of raping his seven-year-old stepdaughter in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district, was sent to 15 days' judicial custody on Thursday, police said.

The accused, Shivraj Meena, was arrested Wednesday after the girl's mother reported the incident to police, late on Tuesday evening, they said.

According to the complaint, the woman found her husband raping the girl some 35 to 40 days ago when she woke up at around 3 am, a police official said.

The woman in her complaint said she was pregnant during the time of the incident and left for her parental home in the nearby village, along with her daughter, the next day, he said.

When the women narrated the incident to her parents, they motivated her to approach the police and lodge a report in this connection against her husband, the officer said.

The woman lodged a complaint with the police after delivering a baby.

The police have booked the accused under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 376 (rape) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he said.

The girl was sent for medical examination and her statement would be recorded before the magistrate on Friday, the officer said.

Her mother got married to Meena about two and a half years ago and had two children from a previous marriage, he said.