‘Rapist’ father sexually exploited niece too for seven years

Rajkot: A 45-year-old electrician arrested for allegedly raping his 19-year-old daughter for four years in Upleta town of Rajkot district had also been sexually exploiting his own brother's daughter, now 17, since she was 10 years old.The harrowing revelation was made by the accused himself when he was arrested on Saturday. His niece was sent to professional counsellors and she narrated her ordeal to them.The victim's mother stated in her complaint to police that when she had to work outside Gujarat, she left her eldest daughter in the care of the accused's family. She said he promised to take care of her as "his own daughter", but later began exploiting her.Police on Sunday registered another a separate offence of rape against him, and said he would be arrested and produced before the court on Monday with a request for custodial interrogation. Police said the accused's daughter and his niece used to sleep in the same room. "At night, when his own daughter would fall asleep, the accused would approach his niece, forcing her to watch pornographic videos and subsequently raping her. Over time, he also assaulted his biological daughter in a similar manner for four years." police said.The accused was produced in the local court on Saturday in connection with the offence of raping his daughter and was sent to judicial custody.Police said the alleged sexual exploitation of the two minor girls came to light when the accused's 19-year-old daughter fled the house after being fed up with the continues harassment. The accused filed a missing complaint, but when police traced the girl, she flatly refused to go back home, revealing later how she was raped for the last four years. Police said when they confronted her father, he confessed to raping his daughter and also confessed to raping his 17-year-old niece for the last seven years.He was booked under sections 64(2)(F), 64(2)(M) of the BNS and sections 4, 6 of the POCSO Act. Investigation officer B R Patel said, "The FSL team is assisting in the investigation, and the accused's mobile phone will also be sent for forensic examination. The 17-year-old girl was sent for medical examination."