Mumbai, January 19: A 23-year-old woman was raped by her father-in-law and brother-in-law for a period of two years.
Her mother-in-law and husband paid no heed to her cries for help. Sessions judge SP Kukday sentenced all four to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment on Monday.
The victim said in her statement to the court that she was married to Mohammed Shakil Khan, 24, in 2001. For two years thereafter, her father-in-law, Mohammed Sagir Khan, 68, and brother-in-law Mohammed Vakil Khan, 26, repeatedly raped her, abused her physically, and kept her confined in their Saki Naka home.
All this while, the victim made fervent pleas to her husband and mother-in-law Kismatunnisa Khan for help, but to no avail. She was neither allowed to speak to her parents over the phone, nor could she visit them.
“Instead of helping her, the victim’s mother-in-law and husband
threatened her with dire consequences to make her keep her mouth shut. The husband often used to say he would divorce her.
Her mother-in-law once threw a stove at her, which led to the victim sustaining injuries on her leg,” additional public prosecutor DK Joshi said.
The victim said in her deposition to the court that she attempted to commit suicide in August 2003. When the family realised that she was likely to file a complaint, they produced a “fake” talaqnama (divorce decree), which stated that she wanted to divorce her husband and marry her brother-in-law.
Her statement further said that she was allowed to go to her parents’ home only after she attempted suicide by consuming poison. However, she was warned not to complain to anyone about the atrocities by her in-laws.
After suffering for two years in silence, the victim summoned the courage to file a complaint against her in-laws at the Saki Naka police station in 2003. All four were arrested following her complaint.
–Agencies–