Panaji: A fast track court has sentenced Taufiq Kotur from Baina to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for raping a woman under the false pretext of marriage. The court also fined him Rs 50,000, which will be paid as compensation to the survivor.The court held that no justification was given by him for breach of the promise to marry.The accused argued for a lesser sentence, stating that he is recently married with a child and is the only earning member of his family and resides in rented premises. The public prosecutor stated that because of his actions, the life of the survivor has been completely destroyed.Presiding officer, fast track special court (Pocso) Panaji, Pooja Kavlekar, observed that although a convict must be given an opportunity to reform, “the fact also remains that the rape survivor’s life gets altered forever after they undergo that traumatic ordeal”.The court stated that it did not find reason to impose a sentence of life imprisonment as the survivor did not allege violence or brutality but said she was in a relationship with the accused where sexual intercourse was on account of promise to marry.She stated that he also forced her to have an abortion against her wishes, but the court acquitted him for causing miscarriage without her consent as there was no corroborative evidence as to the nature of the pills he allegedly gave her.“Although it is proved that the accused was against the pregnancy and wanted to do an abortion, there is no clear evidence that the accused caused the abortion,” the court held.The survivor stated that he first befriended her in 2015 when she was working as a salesgirl. According to the prosecution, on a false promise of marriage, he deceived her and obtained her consent for a sexual relationship and then sexually abused her on several occasions.The court stated that she will also be entitled to compensation under the Goa Victim Compensation Scheme for victims of sexual assault and other crimes.
