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PATNA: A special POCSO court in Patna on Tuesday sentenced a 65-year-old ex-serviceman to 20 years’ of rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly raping his minor granddaughter in connivance with her mother over the past several years.

The special court judge, Madhukar Kumar, also sentenced the minor girl’s 34-year-old mother to 20 years in jail for aiding her father-in-law in committing the crime.

Special public prosecutor (POCSO) Suresh Chandra Prasad said the retired Armyman and his daughter-in-law were also slapped with fines of Rs 20,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively. They will have to serve an additional sentence of three months of simple imprisonment if they fail to pay the fine.

According to the survivor’s deposition in court, her father had gone missing in 2011 and later her grandmother committed suicide.

“The accused had retired from the Army and was working as a bank security guard. He was the sole bread- earner in the family and exploited the situation to force himself on the minor,” the public prosecutor said, adding, that whenever the girl sought her mother’s help she took the grandfather’s side.

According to Prasad, the matter was brought to the police’s notice in February this year by the girl’s school after she narrated her ordeal to the principal.

“Police recorded the victim’s statement in the school, on the basis of which an FIR was lodged with Ramkrishna Nagar police station in Patna on February 12 last year,” Prasad said.

“According to the victim’s deposition in court, she was sexually exploited and raped on multiple occasions by her grandfather since she was seven years old. However, as the victim grew up, she realised that things happening with her were actually wrong,” he said.

The survivor is now with her maternal grandparents and has changed her school.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

