Brother of accused arrested after the Chandigarh girl named him in another round of questioning
Over a month after a 10-year-old gave birth to a girl after allegedly being raped by her maternal uncle, Chandigarh police arrested the accused's brother as well for victimising the child.
This is the second arrest made by the police, who had earlier arrested the survivor's maternal uncle, Kul Bahadur, and booked him under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
"Now we have arrested Shankar, 40, the younger brother of Kul Bahadur, after the victim named him in her statements. Both are her maternal uncles. Shankar used to stay in the same house with Kul Bahadur," SSP Nilambri Jagdale told DNA.
The crime came to light when the 10-year-old's mother took her to a local hospital after she complained of abdominal pain and found out she was 26 weeks pregnant. The child told the police that her maternal uncle, Kul Bahadur, had raped her repeatedly over seven months. She also identified him in court, following which the accused was arrested and sent to judicial custody.
Investigations into the case had hit a roadblock when his DNA sample did not match with the newborn's. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the case then questioned her again in presence of a counsellor. That's when she revealed the name of her other uncle. "Shankar lived in the same houseas Kul Bahadur's and was often alone with the victim, as her parents, who are daily wagers, would be away at work. He would be taken into police custody for further questioning," said the police officials.
The police have moved an application to conduct another DNA test of the accused to rule out any error. "The challenge is that the child is too young. Though the DNA of the newborn has not matched with the maternal uncle, he is accused of raping her. We have ensured that she remains under guidance of a counsellor. We cannot allow police to directly interrogate her at her house. She was taken to a place away from her house, where she was questioned in presence of her mother," said Harjinder Kaur, Chairperson, Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CCPCR).
The survivor had given birth to a girl on August 17 after Supreme Court rejected her plea for abortion as she was 30 weeks pregnant.
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