Navi Mumbai: Minor girl finds herself pregnant, clueless about rapist's identity

A 17-year-old cognitively disabled girl from Panvel was rushed to a hospital after she complained about severe stomach pain on Friday evening. However, to everyone's surprise, the doctors revealed that the girl was three months pregnant after having been raped.

The victim's parents died a few years ago and she stays with one of her aunts in Panvel's Maladkar area.

When her cousins tried inquiring about the person who raped her, the victim could not remember anything. When they couldn't get any leads even after hours of asking, the family approached the police.

The Panvel city police have registered the case under section 376 of Indian Penal Code and sections 3 and 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. But the identity of her rapist has not yet been discovered.

"This is a very complicated case. The vicitim doesn't have a social life and usually stays at home. The area is a densely populated one and hardly any outsider visits the house. Even the family doesn't suspect anyone from the neighbourhood," said Priyanka Bore, police sub-inspector from Panvel city police station.

The girl was later sent to NMMC hospital in Vashi for a second medical check-up. "We don't even have any suspects, and the victim is unable to remember anything. But we are exploring all possible angles to solve the case," another police officer said.

"In India, it is illegal to abort the foetus after 20 weeks of getting pregnant. Therefore a proper medical check-up of the girl is very important before opting for that. But we don't know if the family has approached any hospital for the same. Nothing could be done without their consent," said a medical officer from NMMC hospital.