Man held after 12-year-old delivers baby, dies in days

Times News Network
Ludhiana: A 12-year-old girl who was abducted by a man on the pretext of marriage in September 2023, was raped and impregnated. The girl died days after delivering a baby on August 31 and her family members alleged that the accused had killed her. Police filed a case against him under sections 363A (kidnapping or maiming a minor for purpose of begging), 366 (kidnapping, abduction or inducing woman to compel her marriage), 376 (rape), 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.The accused was arrested Saturday.

The complainant said that the accused abducted his daughter on September 13, 2023 on the pretext of marriage. He filed a police complaint but the duo could not be traced. He said that he came to know that the accused had come to Ludhiana with his pregnant daughter on August 30. However, the girl suffered labour pain before they arrived in Ludhiana and was rushed to a hospital, where she delivered a baby on August 31.
The complainant said that the accused got the minor girl and the newborn discharged on September 1 and took them to a relative’s house in Ludhiana, where his daughter died on September 4. The complainant claimed that the accused killed their daughter. However, police said that preliminary probe does not indicate murder.
As per preliminary investigation, the girl’s health deteriorated as she gave birth at a young age. She was not taken care of well, which led to her death. The autopsy has been done but doctors are awaiting viscera and chemical examination report to ascertain the cause of death.