Mumbai court grants bail to rape accused

In a bizarre incident, a special court in Bombay granted bail to a 25-year-old man who raped and impregnated a 16-year-old girl, after he showed willingness to marry the minor. According to the prosecution, the accused, an acquaintance of the girl’s father, had a ‘consensual’ relationship with the minor, and later, when she informed him about her pregnancy, threatened her not to disclose his identity as the father of her unborn child. The mother of the victim noticed bodily changes on the minor, and lodged a complaint against the accused, and was arrested on October 23rd. The POCSO court granted bail to the man after they found out the relationship was ‘consensual’ and after the man, already married, promised to marry the minor once she turns eighteen. The police, however, opposed the bail, on the grounds that the accused’s wife did not consent to the second marriage. The mother of the minor also submitted an affidavit seeking the release of the man after stating that her daughter had given birth to their child. The police also alleged that the man intends to take undue advantage of the girl by offering to marry her, and opposed the decision of the POCSO court.