Mumbai. A 17-year-old girl from Maharashtra’s Palghar district allegedly befriended a 23-year-old man from another religion and had sexual relations with him. The girl’s life started taking a tragic turn when her parents came to know about her pregnancy. She was made pregnant again and her newborn children were sold.
According to a report in Times of India, the girl lodged a complaint with the police that she was impregnated twice by two different men and her parents approached a school principal, two female doctors, a social worker, a lawyer and several others. Along with other people conspired to sell one of her newborn children. At least 16 people, including the girl’s parents, have been booked for rape and child selling under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act.
The report quoted the girl as telling the police that her parents came to know of her pregnancy after she had sex with a 23-year-old man in 2021. He sought help from the school principal and social worker. The girl, who had dropped out of Class 7 at that time, was taken to a private hospital for routine check-up and delivery. According to TOI report, the victim told the police that during her pregnancy, her parents took her to a place in Mumbai, where a lawyer made her sign some documents.
On 24 September 2021, she gave birth to a girl, who was handed over to the social worker the next day. During this time the victim was warned not to talk about delivery. The report further states that six months after delivery, she managed to contact the child’s father (i.e. her boyfriend), who claimed that he had paid Rs 4 lakh to the social worker. He expressed his desire to marry her, but the mediators warned him to stay away.
The girl alleged that her parents and uncle got Rs 1.5 lakh each, while the social worker and some others shared the remaining Rs 1 lakh. When she asked her parents about this, they sent her to her grandmother’s house, where her family arranged her marriage with a 23-year-old man.
Tags: crime news, Maharashtra news, pocso act
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 3, 2024, 16:23 IST