THANE: Mumbai police have arrested a 29-year-old man for allegedly raping a 17-year-old girl and forcing her to have an abortion using fake documents in Thane district in Maharashtra, officials said on Sunday.
The aborted fetus, which was buried at a crematorium in Ulhasnagar, has been exhumed for further investigation. A doctor who provided medicine to terminate the minor's pregnancy has also been arrested.
According to Ulhasnagar central police station's senior inspector Shankar Avtade, "The victim and the accused man were neighbors in Ulhasnagar. In July last year, the accused lured the victim to his home under the pretext of having dinner, while his wife, children, and parents had gone to their native village and allegedly raped the minor multiple times and threatened to kill her if she told anyone, the official said.
The victim later discovered she was pregnant. When she informed the accused, he gave her abortion pills provided by a private doctor, he added.
The official went on to say that when the initial abortion attempt failed, the accused's wife, mother, and mother-in-law allegedly conspired to force the victim, who was seven months pregnant, to have an abortion last month. While the victim's parents were away, she was taken to a hospital. The accused provided false identification and age details of the victim, and doctors advised an abortion. The abortion was then performed at a civic hospital in Kalyan.
The accused's wife and mother then quickly buried the fetus at a crematorium in Ulhasnagar, he said.
The crime came to light on February 23 when the victim told her mother about the incident after she returned from her village. Following this, the victim's family filed a complaint at Ulhasnagar Central Police Station.
The police arrested the accused man on February 25. On Saturday night, they also arrested the private medical practitioner who allegedly provided the abortion pills initially, the official said. Meanwhile, four other accused, all women, involved in the crime have not yet been arrested.
The accused have been charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for rape, forced abortion, concealing evidence, and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the official said.