Shillong, May 19: In an unprecedented POCSO case, it was a mother’s faith in the Khasi traditional belief that when lightning strikes twice a house where incest is going on that helped exposed that her own child was a victim of rape within the family.
The case emerged from West Khasi Hills District, the verdict which was passed by the Special Judge (POCSO) in 2021. One Banteilang Sohshang was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail for sexual assault on a 16-year-old in 2017.
The detail of the case was included in a judgement passed by the Meghalaya High Court while hearing criminal appeal filed by Sohshang.
A division bench of Chief Justice Revati Mohite Dere and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh upheld the order of the POCSO judge and said the prosecution had proved its case against the appellant beyond reasonable doubt.
What is interesting about the case is that a traditional belief played a significant role in pushing the family to take legal action.
According to the mother of the survivor, the incident of sexual assault by the man on her daughter came to light when lightning struck the his mother’s house twice. When the mother of the man confronted all the members of the family, he admitted of having committed incest with the survivor.
The High Court, after examining the record, held that the testimony of the survivor was corroborated by the evidence of other prosecution witnesses and by medical evidence.
Finding no reason to interfere with the trial court’s judgment and order dated November 5, 2021, which convicted and sentenced the appellant, the division bench dismissed the appeal.
Meanwhile, the high court dismissed another criminal appeal challenging a conviction for the heinous crime committed against a minor. The case revolves around the conviction of the brother-in-law of a 16-year-old survivor.
The division bench reviewed the evidence that indicated the appellant’s clear violation of trust and engagement in abusive behaviour. On October 12, 2020, it was reported that the appellant lured the victim from school to a restaurant where he committed the assault in a toilet facility. A second assault was said to have occurred on October 17, 2020, at his home when his family was not present.
The incident came to light on October 19, 2020 when the survivor disclosed to her parents about the two incidents.
In its order, the court stated that considering that the appellant (brother-in-law of the survivor) had abused the relationship of trust no interference is warranted in the judgment.
The Special Judge (POCSO), West Khasi Hills District had convicted and sentenced the man to 20 years in jail on September 22, 2023.
