By PTI
KOTA: A 27-year-old man has been held for allegedly repeatedly raping a minor girl, who was diagnosed with seven months of pregnancy after she complained of ache in abdomen, police said Tuesday.
The 16-year-old victim and the accused are neighbours in a village that falls under Khatoli police station here, they said.
According to the complaint, the man had been raping the girl, a Class 9 student, since April this year.
The victim’s mother and brother were away and her father would be in the fields when the accused would exploit her.
On October 18, the girl suffered from abdomen ache and her parents took her to a local hospital, where the doctors found that she was seven months pregnant, prompting her parents to report to police.
On October 17, a case was lodged under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the ST/SC Act against the accused.
Since then, the 27-year-old had been on the run.
A special team, formed by Superintendent of Police (SP) Kavendra Singh Sagar under ASP Praveen Jain arrested the accused in the matter on Monday night and initiated further investigation into the case.
The girl told police that her mother went to Jaipur for her treatment on April 12 this year, Station House Officer (SHO) Rameshwar Prasad said.
Her brother accompanied her mother, she said.
Her father would be in the fields working till evening every day and she would be alone at home in the day time, she added.
The survivor has alleged that the accused threatened her of dire consequences if she told anyone about having been raped.
The accused would be produced before court later in the day on Tuesday, the SHO said, adding, the girl’s medical examination has been conducted and her statements recorded under section 164 were also recorded.
Further investigation in the case is on.