SHIVAMOGGA: Close on the heels of a ninth-standard girl delivering a baby in Yadgir district recently, another shocking incident has been reported in Shivamogga taluk. A 14-year-old girl, allegedly raped by her own minor brother, gave birth to a baby boy at her house on Friday. The girl is the third child in a family with three daughters and a son, all of whom reportedly have mental conditions.
Child Welfare Committee (CWC) sources said that a police complaint has been filed against the minor brother, who is 17 years old, under the POCSO Act. Both the minor girl and the baby, who weighs 1.8 kg, have been admitted to a government hospital in the city and are reported to be stable.
CWC Chairman Tajuddin Khan told TNIE that the girl delivered the premature baby after seven months of pregnancy. “The girl delivered the baby with the help of her mother in the toilet. She was taken to the government hospital the same night. She initially gave contradictory statements when counsellors questioned her,” he said.
Accused repeatedly raped girl, say cops
“After thorough counselling, she revealed that her brother impregnated her,” Khan said. He added, “All the children in the family suffer from borderline intellectual disability. The family is poor; the father is a daily wage painter, while the mother is a homemaker.”
He said the house is small and all the brothers and sisters sleep in the same room. The accused repeatedly raped the girl over several days. The girl’s mother also failed to monitor the girl’s menstrual cycle.
Once the girl and the child are discharged from the hospital, CWC will take care of the girl till she turns 18. “If the girl wants to keep the baby, we will hand it over to her. Otherwise, it will be given up for adoption as per law. The accused will be sent to the correction home.”