Chennai,  A special court trying sexual offences against children, handed over the death sentence to a 49-year-old man in Chennai, for sexually assaulting his daughter while the mother of the girl was awarded a life sentence by the court.

The sexual abuse had come to light when the girl studying in Class 11 narrated her ordeal to her friends in school which they informed the teachers.

The teachers further conveyed the matter to the Childline authorities. Volunteers of the Childline rescued the girl and lodged a complaint with the all woman police station in Guindy.

The victim's father was arrested under the Juvenile Justice Act.

Special court judge for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), M. Rajalakshmi awarded the death sentence to the 49-year-old man for sexually abusing his daughter. The judgment was pronounced on Friday.

The judge in her order said the man must be hanged by the neck till he is dead and added that the punishment is subject to clearance from the Madras High Court.

Section 6 of the POCSO Act says that capital punishment is given for the offence of aggravated penetrative sexual assault.

The girl revealed to the investigating officers that her father used to assault her since she attained the age of seven and had continued it even after she attained puberty.

The victim in her statement told the police that she got pregnant by her father in 2019 and that he had forced her to undergo abortion with the support of her mother.

She also revealed to the police that her father had inserted foreign objects in her genitals and had forced her to sleep nude with him.