Goa: Woman gets 7-yr jail term for pushing minor daughter into prostitution

Panaji: The Goa Children's Court (GCC) has sentenced a woman to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for pushing her minor daughter into prostitution 13 years ago.

GCC Judge Vandana Tendulkar, in her judgment delivered earlier this week, found the woman guilty of pushing her daughter (then aged 16) into prostitution, and awarded a seven-year rigorous jail term to the convict.

The judge also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the woman, who was convicted under relevant sections of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 and the Goa Children's Act, 2003.

The court examined 11 witnesses during the trial. According to the prosecution, the Goa Crime Branch had arrested the woman in 2004, while two other accused in the case are still absconding.

The victim was rescued during a raid at Baina in Vasco town in 2004. The court rapped the police for failing to arrest the other two accused, including a woman, even after so many years since the case was filed.

Police, during investigation, found out that the victim was sexually abused in a flat owned by the absconding woman in Vasco town.