A police officer’s brutal rape of his own daughter in India has once again dragged the country’s shocking sexual assault problem into the spotlight.
The 58-year-old Mathuran assistant sub-inspector was arrested for raping his 35-year-old married daughter at a police outpost.
The woman had previously been abused by her father as a teenager, the Times of India reports.
However, after she got married, the assaults stopped – for a while. The recent rape happened after she was out late and needed somewhere to stay, so went to her father’s station.
“I thought my father must have changed in so many years, but I was proved wrong,” she told police.
Sources told the Times of India the accused has admitted to the rape, saying he did it because his daughter “provoked” him.
The case has sparked further anger in a country where there is intense social pressure against families reporting sexual assaults, and where women are often blamed for the attacks they suffer.
When women do report rapes, police often refuse to file charges and pressure the victims to reach a compromise with their attackers.
India’s slow criminal justice system and government inaction has led to widespread demonstrations.
However, in a sign that things may be changing, the government has vowed to enlist more women police officers and toughen sexual assault laws.
