23-yr-old boyfriend booked for rape after teenager dies during premature labour

FIR filed against 23-year-old boyfriend for impregnating and causing premature labor death of 18-year-old girl in Navi Mumbai. Baby also dies.

Navi Mumbai: The Vashi police on Monday registered an FIR against the boyfriend of an 18-year-old girl for impregnating her, after she died of premature labour at her place last week. A rape case has been registered under section 64(1) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with sections of the POCSO Act against the 23-year-old boyfriend, a resident of Shrivardhan.

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According to the police, on July 19, the deceased’s father, who is an artisan working in the city, called the teenager from his workplace, but she didn’t pick up. “Her father asked the neighbours to check on her. The neighbours forcefully opened the door and found her lying motionless on the floor with a newborn baby between her legs with the umbilical cord attached,” said a police officer.

A nurse residing in the society cut the umbilical cord and made the baby cry. The girl and her baby were then taken to General Hospital in Vashi; however, they were declared dead before admission, said the officer, adding that the newborn weighing just 2 kg was taken in for further treatment. However, on July 21 the infant, too, passed away.

“As per the doctors, the baby born prematurely died due to lack of oxygen, which is necessary following the birth,” said the police officer.

The parents denied having any knowledge of her pregnancy. The mother informed the police that she was in a relationship with a boy. The girl had purportedly befriended the 23-year-old during her computer classes. “No one seems to be aware that she was 7 months pregnant but considering that she had just turned 18 years old in June, a case of rape has been registered against the accused. The FIR will now be transferred for further investigations to the local police,” added the officer.

The deceased, her mother and her siblings are residents of Shrivardhan but had come to spend time with the father in July. “The mother and the siblings returned to their home, as school had reopened. However, the girl decided to stay back at Vashi to look for a job as she had just passed Class 12,” said the officer.