Mumbai: Mother-son get jail term for raping minor girl

Thane: A local court has sentenced a 24-year-old man to 15 years' rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl and awarded ten years' jail term to his mother for abetting the crime.

District judge Mridula V K Bhatia convicted Sushant Dubey, owner of a driving school here, and his mother Mamata Dubey on Monday. Sushant was convicted under section 376 of IPC (rape) and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). His mother was convicted under section 17 of POCSO Act (abetment).

Prosecutor S E Phad said the victim, who was 15 years old, and her elder sister worked at Dubey's driving school. In March 2013, Mamata requested the victim's mother to send the girl to live with them and help her with household work as she was unwell.

A few days later, Sushant raped the girl when she was alone at home. When she told Mamata about the incident, she told the victim that she would ensure that he married her, the prosecution said.

Subsequently, Sushant raped the victim on several occasions, and his mother threatened to kill her if she disclosed this to anyone.

The judge upheld the prosecution's case and noted that an offence like rape has "serious repercussions on the psychological well-being of the victim".