ROURKELA: In a shocking incident, a 13-year-old girl reportedly gave birth to a baby at Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) after being repeatedly raped by her stepfather.
The incident took place in the intervening night of February 22-23 but came to light after some local social activists confronted the accused, 40-year-old Ram Prasad Mishra, and thrashed him on Tuesday.
When news of the incident came out, police swung into action and admitted the girl to the one-stop centre ‘Sakhi’ at RGH on Tuesday night. After counselling the minor, the centre administrator of Sakhi lodged a complaint with police on Wednesday. Mishra, who runs a fast food stall at Bisra square, has been detained by Sector 7 police.
Sources said the girl’s mother and Mishra belong to Ganjam district. After becoming estranged from her husband, the girl’s mother reportedly remarried Mishra. She and her daughter started to stay with him at Golghar slum in Sector 5 where the accused sexually abused the child over a period of time.
When the girl reached the advanced stage of pregnancy, her mother brought her to RGH where she gave birth to a baby girl. The minor mother and her baby were soon discharged under dubious circumstances. Another woman namely Kusum reportedly took custody of the baby and the matter was hushed up.
Nurses on duty at RGH on the fateful night claimed that the beat house of RN Pali police station on the hospital campus was informed about the incident. However, police denied receiving any information in this regard.
While RGH director Dr Manoj Upadhyay did not respond to repeated calls, DIG (Western Range) Brijesh Kumar Rai said a case under section 65 (1) of BNS and section 6 of POCSO Act was registered in Sector 7 police station. “The accused has been detained and is being questioned. Investigation is underway to ascertain the circumstances under which the girl after giving birth was discharged from the hospital and if the police station concerned was informed about the incident. Strict action would be taken for lapses, if any,” he said.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the newborn baby was rescued by the Childline from the custody of the woman at Sector 7. The baby has been admitted to the Women and Child Development department’s newborn centre at Bisra for necessary care.