MADURAI/COIMBATORE: A 14-year-old boy was booked under the POCSO Act for sexually assaulting a girl his age on Tuesday.
The boy and girl were studying in Class 8 at a government school. The boy had gotten the girl pregnant. Her family came to know about her four-month pregnancy recently. They took her to PHC to get an abortion. From there she was referred to Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai and police was alerted.
A police personnel told TNIE that the girl and the boy were from the same village and relatives. The girl’s pregnancy will be aborted through legal procedure, the police official said. The boy has to be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board and is likely to be lodged in the Government (Male) Observation Home, sources said. The family members had planned to admit him into a separate school in Theni for ninth standard before they became aware of the pregnancy.
“In most POCSO Act cases the suspects are above 18 but in this case the suspect is a ‘child in conflict with law’. The case can be booked only under the POCSO Act,” added the police.
A case was booked against him under POCSO Act based on a complaint by the social welfare department.
17-year-old gives birth
A 26-year-old man was booked for sexually assaulting a minor girl at Tallakulam on Tuesday. According to police, the suspect has been identified as P Madurai Veeran (26). Santhi, a social welfare officer, got an alert via Childline that a 17-year-old girl gave birth to a male child. She then conducted an enquiry and found that the girl was ‘married’ to Madurai Veeran last year. A case was registered against him under the POCSO Act and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. In a separate case, the Othakadai police registered a case against one Siva of Dindigul under the POCSO Act for sexually assaulting a minor girl on Tuesday. The suspect and the victim had a physical relationship and the man got the girl pregnant. She was admitted to the GRH. A case was booked based on a complaint of Child Welfare Committee president DR VM Vijayasaravanan.
21-year-old marries minor
A 21-year-old youth was arrested by the Coimbatore Rural Police for allegedly marrying and sexually assaulting a minor.
The suspect befriended the 16-year-old girl studying Class XI and had exchanged their mobile numbers. The girl went missing on Sunday, and her parents lodged a complaint with Alandurai Police to trace her.
During the investigation, it was found that the suspect took the girl to a temple at Pannimadai the and married her. He has also sexually assaulted her, they added. The police rescued her on Tuesday and booked the youth under sections of IPC and POCSO Act and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.