How a 15-year-old girl from Hyderabad turned against her family and sent her father to jail for rape

Deputy Public Prosecutor A. Rami Reddy said the girl was sexually abused, blamed, stigmatised and isolated by her own family but faced the questions in court with utmost determination. “Despite immense pressure, the girl stuck to her statement against the father,” Reddy added, quoted by TOI.

In May 2022, the girl went to the police station one night and revealed chilling details about her father’s actions. She added that all this had happened several times before and the family was not supporting her. SHO, S. Surender, told TOI that the girl was referred to a Bharosa centre for medical care and a case was registered based on her complaint.

The girl was sent to a home run by the state child welfare board soon after the complaint was filed. The family kept claiming that the girl had filed a false complaint because the father made her do sit-ups because she was not helping her mother, the TOI report said.

“Given her tender age, she cannot invent such a false story about sexual assault on her own father unless something had happened to her,” the court said in its verdict, the report added.

Defendant attempted to make “false” allegations

During the trial, the man said that he was not at home at the time of the alleged incident and had travelled to Odisha. However, the court said that the man did not mention the date or purpose of his trip. The court also asked how the man travelled to Odisha and returned to Hyderabad, whether tickets or any other person was examined to substantiate his claim.

“He has not produced any cogent or credible evidence to prove that he was not in Hyderabad at the time of the offence and that he did not commit the offence,” the court observed.

The report added that the defense attorney said the girl filed a complaint at the behest of the police. However, during cross-examination, the girl said her mother once showed her the police station when she dropped her off at school.

Her father tried several times to dissuade her from making any comments, but the girl stuck to the statement she had made to the police two years ago, and eventually her father was put behind bars.