Man, girlfriend get lifer for sexual assault on minor girl in Indore

A local court on Monday awarded life imprisonment to a man and his girlfriend in a sexual assault case involving a ten-year-old domestic help. A notable feature of the judgement is that the 33-year-old woman convict will have to be in prison till her death.

The sentence was awarded by Additional Sessions Judge Savita Singh to Sunil Karosia (48) and his paramour Sarita alias Pinki (33).

"It is for the first time in the legal history of Indore that a court has sentenced a woman for homosexual abuse," Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Ravindra Desai said.

Besides, the court imposed a fine of Rs 13,000 on Karosia and Rs 11,000 on Sarita, Desai said, adding the Judge ordered to provide Rs 12,000 to the victim from the total fine amount. In a 23-page judgement, the court observed that the duo had deliberately indulged in the heinous act.

The two, who were into poultry business, had sexually assaulted the girl after keeping her confined in a flat here between May 30 and June 30, 2013.

They brought the girl from their poultry farm, where her parents were employed as labourers, to work as a domestic help in their house and promised to pay her Rs 500 per month.

The girl was rescued by Childline, an NGO working for the protection of children, following a tip-off. The NGO later filed a complaint along with her mother in Aerodrome police station in this regard.

The duo had been booked under relevant sections of Indian Penal Code, including 376 (punishment for rape), and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act.