SRINAGAR: A 35-year-old man has been arrested after his wife’s minor sister, whom he had allegedly raped, gave birth to a baby boy a week ago, police say.
This is the eight incident of “rape” reported in past thirty days in the Muslim majority state, where crimes against women lately have been on the rise.
Muhammad Amin Sheikh, a resident of Behnipora Rajwar in Kupwara district, was arrested after his 15-year-old sister-in-law was admitted to the hospital with ‘indications of labour pain’, nine months after he allegedly raped her in April 2012.
“Family of the girl did not report the incident to us till we were informed by hospital administration. They wanted us to take the girl to a Srinagar hospital, owing to the complications of the case,” said Superintendent of Police, Chowdhary Mohammad Aslam.
The girl gave birth to a baby boy in a Srinagar hospital on January 8 after a cesarean surgery, officials said. After the delivery, the family of the girl lodged a written complaint with police, besides recording the victim’s statement.
The complainant alleged that the brother-in-law of the victim “drugged and raped” her when she was in former’s home to help with the household chores as her sister had given birth to a child.
Sheikh has four children from his wife.
The family members of the victim maintained that they were unaware till an Ultra-Sonography (USG) revealed her pregnancy of four months. The doctors warned that any attempt to abort the unborn child would put the minor girl’s life at risk.
Police said they would also be looking into various aspects, including the family’s decision not to report the incident. “One can understand the situation of elders in these circumstances, still we will be asking the family, particularly her mother, for the cause of hiding the incident,” the SP said.
On January 18, south Kashmir woke up to a shocking news of rape of a 13-year-old girl allegedly by a Pir (faith healer) of the age of her grandfather. The incident came to fore after a routine medical check-up of the girl revealed that she was 8-months pregnant.
(Hindustan Times)
