JAIPUR: Hitting a new low in sexual crimes against girls and women, a 68-year-old retired Army man was arrested by the Jhotwara police for allegedly raping his granddaughter several times over the past four years.
The victim, now 16-year-old, had eloped with a youth two months ago and was later traced by the police. In her statement before the magistrate, she claimed to have fled the house to save herself from her grandfather whom she accused of sexually exploiting her on several occasions.
The girl got pregnant and sought help of a youth staying in her neighbourhood to get the fetus aborted, police said.
In her statement, she claimed that her grandfather used to take virility pills. The police arrested the accused on Thursday evening and produced him before a court on Friday which sent him to 14-day judicial custody.
Assistant commissioner of police, Jhotwara Nasimulah Khan said the girl’s parents stay in a village in Dausa while the victim and her two younger brothers were staying with the grandfather in Jhotwara’s Kumawat Colony.
The accused, whose wife died a few years ago, retired from the Army as a subedar.
“The girl studied in Jaipur. She eloped with a youth living in her neighbourhood two months ago following which we registered a missing case. In her statement before the police under section 161 of CrPC, she said the youth had helped her and didn’t rape her,” said the officer.
He added that the girl then accused her grandfather of raping her several times since she was a 12-year-old.
“The girl said that she even got pregnant a few months ago, but the same youth helped her get the fetus aborted. After recording her statement before a magistrate in which she repeated the same allegations. We arrested the grandfather,” said the officer. The man was produced in a court and sent to judicial custody.