KOCHI: Police on Wednesday arrested a 21-year-old man under Pocso charges for sexually abusing and impregnating a minor girl at Edathala. The incident came to light when the parents took the 14-year-old girl to the Ernakulam Medical College Hospital after she complained of stomach pain. The doctor who attended to the girl found that she was nine months pregnant and reported it to the police. The accused person is a family friend of the girl.
“The mothers of the girl and the youth have been friends for a long time. Both the families used to visit each other. Last year, the accused person’s parents had a family quarrel, following which the accused and his mother stayed at the girl’s house for a short period. Both the boy and the girl used to be alone in the house when the parents went for their daily wage work. We suspect that their relationship was consensual. Since the victim is a minor, a case has been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act,” said a police officer.
Though the girl was nine months pregnant, the parents allegedly came to know about it only after the hospital authorities informed them about it. “When we interrogated the parents, they told us that they were unaware of the pregnancy,” the officer added.
However, the police are of the opinion that the parents were trying to hide the incident to save them both.
“Even while recording the statements, the parents seemed to be trying to save the accused. It is hard to believe that they were unaware of the pregnancy even after the girl entered the ninth month of pregnancy. The parents were even planning to conduct their marriage,” the officer added.