In a heart-wrenching incident, a 12-year-old rape victim lived a nightmare that no one could ever imagine. This brave soul gave birth to a baby on Wednesday, only to see the baby die within 10 minutes.
The girl was sexually exploited by her father’s friend, residing in the same neighborhood in Chandrapur district, Nagpur. After her parents lodged a police complaint on March 13, the accused was arrested under the stringent POCSO Act and section 376 of the IPC.
As the 12-year-old was admitted to the hospital, doctors asked the police to approach the court for an appropriate order on Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP). The HC registry went on to appoint a counsel for the petitioner – the girl’s father – and asked her to submit a petition.
While sharing the details, the counsel shared with the sources:
“I submitted the petition the same day. The case was taken up for hearing on April 8. The HC directed the formation of a doctors’ panel and accordingly, a panel of five was set up. It opined that since the girl had by then already completed over 24 weeks of her pregnancy, MTP could result in the live birth. This raised the question as to who would take the child’s responsibility.”
The counsel further added:
“The court fixed April 15 to further hear the case, but before it could take up the matter, the girl delivered the baby around 10 am. The baby, however, died within 10 minutes.”
“This development has made the basic petition infructuous, but the only matter that remains to be addressed now is the government compensation to the victim and her recuperation. For that, the court has fixed April 23 as the next date of hearing.”
It is heartbreaking to see how this child had to undergo such a painful incident.
The extreme level of mental trauma that she underwent at such a young age because of the sexual assault and pregnancy is what leave us ashamed. We live in a society, where sex-deprived predators attack our young vulnerable kids to please their greed.
At IFORHER, we pray for this young girl and hope life gives her courage & strength to bear the pain. Additionally, we request the authorities to provide her justice as soon as possible and ensure the culprit is not only punished for the sexual assault but also for the death of this newborn.