Father held for rape as 21-year-old woman delivers stillborn baby in Panchkula

Police say though the woman maintained that no other member of the family was aware of her plight, there were many gaps in her statement, as no noticed her nine-month pregnancy

A man was arrested on Friday on charges of sexually exploiting his 21-year-old daughter, a fact that was revealed after she delivered a stillborn baby at the civil hospital in Sector 6 on Friday.

The victim revealed to the police that her father had been repeatedly raping her, resulting in the pregnancy. (Representative photo)

The women’s police station at Sector 5 was informed about the matter after the hospital staff felt something was amiss. While being questioned, the victim revealed her father had been repeatedly raping her, resulting in the pregnancy.

The SHO of the police station, Neha Chauhan, said though the woman maintained that no other member of the family was aware of her plight, there were many gaps in her statement. “She says her mother did not know about the rapes even though she was in the ninth month of pregnancy,” Chauhan said.

The victim could not be questioned further as she was recovering from the birth. “We will record her statement again in a couple of days after she’s better,” Chauhan added.

Rape charges have been filed and the man has been arrested. He will be produced before the local court on Saturday. Police are likely to seek his remand for questioning to gather more information.

According to SHO, the family lives in Abhaypur in Sector 19 and did not appear to be economically backward as the accused worked in a kitchen appliance company. The victim has four other siblings.

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