A man with three wives has been sentenced to seven-year imprisonment by a Delhi court for raping his neighbour after trespassing into her house
Additional Sessions Judge Kaveri Baweja handed down the jail term "keeping in view the fact that the convict committed rape upon the woman after trespassing into her house and also threatened to kill her and her minor son." Amar Singh, a resident of Pahar Ganj in Central Delhi was held guilty of rape, house trespass and criminal intimidation and also slapped a fine of Rs 7,500.
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During the trial, one of Singh's wives also deposed in the court that prior to the incident she was told by neighbours that the woman (victim) used to come to her house in her absence and spend time with her husband.
The court, however, noted that all of what Singh's wife had said was "hearsay evidence" and could not be relied upon. The ASJ also junked Singh's defense that he knew the victim and they were in a live-in relationship few years ago and that the incident in question was not rape but consensual sex.
It also rejected his plea for leniency on the ground that he has three wives and two children to look after. The police had registered a case against him on May 1, 2012 on a complaint lodged by his neighbour alleging rape.
The woman had told the court that on the night of April 30, 2012, Singh entered her house when her husband and three children were away to their native village in Bihar and she was at home with her youngest son aged 9 years.
She said at about 10 PM, Singh forced his entry in her house and when she asked him to go away, he beat her up and his minor son with belt and also threatened to kill the child.
He then repeatedly raped her and spent the night in her house. When Singh left the next morning, the victim went out of the house crying and borrowed mobile phone from a passerby and informed police about the incident.
The man from who the victim had borrowed the mobile phone also testified in court about the situation in which the woman had come out seeking help.