MADIKERI : An FIR has been lodged against seven accused, including three government officials, in a case under POCSO, child marriage restraint and SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The FIR was lodged following a complaint by a minor girl to the State Women’s Commission. The accused were booked under several sections of the BNS, and investigations are ongoing.
In February 2025, the girl had written to Ponnampet Women and Child Development officials seeking help, claiming she was a victim of rape and child marriage. She said she was 17 years old and had completed SSLC in 2024-25. She, her parents, uncle and sister worked as labourers on an estate owned by a local resident. She claimed that she was in a relationship with her uncle. She also alleged that the estate owner had been sexually abusing her and her sister. Further, the estate owner and her parents had forced her to marry her uncle in December 2024.
After she became pregnant, she was allegedly fired from work by the estate owner. She gave birth to a child at Gonikoppal Community Centre. She has alleged that she is unable to avail of any government facilities as the estate owner had seized her documents and employed her as a slave.
Despite complaining to officers in Ponnampet, she did not receive any support, and forwarded the complaint to the women’s commission. Inspector Tulasi filed a complaint against seven accused at Srimangala Police Station, in which the girl’s parents, her husband, the estate owner, officers in Ponnampet, medical officer of Gonikoppal Community Health Centre, and a forensics official in Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences were booked . The forensics and medical officers had allegedly produced fake documents to hide the girl’s age during delivery.