Ghaziabad: 21-year-old arrested for raping minor cousin, impregnating her

The victim’s family did not come forward to report the crime despite police counselling them at lengths, leading them to file an FIR suo moto

Police arrested a 21-year-old man on Sunday for raping his 13-year-old cousin sister in March in Sahibabad, officers aware of the case said. The case came to light when the police received a hospital memo on July 11 that mentioned that the minor girl had suffered an abortion in the fourth month of pregnancy. Police then registered suo motu first information report (FIR) as the girl’s family did not come forward to report the case.

The FIR was initially filed under sections of rape under BNS, but now will be investigated under IPC as the incident predated BNS’ implementation. (Representative image)

“Taking cognizance, we reached out to the victim’s family and counselled them several times to come forward and give a complaint considering the severity of the incident. But they did not come forward. So, the police registered a case of suo motu. The suspect was identified with the help of manual inputs and electronic evidence and finally arrested from Shani Chowk in Sahibabad,” said assistant commissioner of police (Sahibabad Circle) Rajneesh Kumar Upadhyaya.

The ACP said that the suspect was questioned at length. “The offender told us that the girl’s father is his maternal uncle. He added that there was a marriage function of one of their relatives in March, and he arrived from his native place in Bulandshahr to Ghaziabad. There, he stayed at the house of his maternal uncle and raped the girl when he found her alone. Ever since the incident, the family knew about the assault and that the girl was pregnant, but they did not approach the police,” ACP Upadhyaya added.

Police said that the matter will also be referred to the Child Welfare Committee.

The FIR was initially filed under sections of rape under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). However, the case will now be investigated under sections of rape under the Indian Penal Code as the incident happened when the BNS was not in force, officials added. The police also invoked provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.