TIRUVANNAMALAI: A 15-year-old girl, who allegedly took abortion pills prescribed by a ‘quack’ to terminate her second pregnancy, died in Tiruvannamalai.
Police said the minor girl was impregnated by S. Murugan, 27, who happened to be the girl's relative. She was a class X student in a government school and Murugan is a driver.
They were also neighbours and got acquainted with each other when Murugan used to drop her at school in his two-wheeler.
According to police sources, the girl became pregnant about a year ago and terminated her pregnancy in the second month by taking abortion pills. However, it did not go well when she attempted to end her second pregnancy. This time she was four months pregnant.
On Monday, Murugan, with the help of his friend C Prabhu, took her to the quack to abort the child. After consulting the quack, the girl took abortion pills. On her way back, she fell unconscious. They rushed her to Thanipadi government hospital but doctors declared her dead, the police sources said.
The police, on information, launched a probe into the matter.
Tiruvannamalai Rural Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) K. Annadurai told TNIE, “The 'doctor' who prescribed the abortion pills was found to be a quack. The girl died of overdosing on the pills.”
The police then arrested Murugan on charges of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and IPC. Prabhu was also held for helping Murugan in getting the abortion done.
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Thanipadi police registered a case under sections 5 & 6 of the POCSO act and sections 312 (causing miscarriage), 314 (death of a woman by act done with intent to cause miscarriage), and 315 (act done with intent to prevent child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth) of the IPC.
The quack has been identified as J Gandhi. She is 65 years old and has been prescribed medicines to patients without proper educational qualification, DSP Annadurai said.
The elderly woman had not been arrested because she had taken ill, the DSP said.
The accused Murugan and Prabhu were imprisoned at Vellore Central Prison.