Minor rape victim delivers baby girl in Noida
NOIDA: A 16-year-old pregnant girl, the victim of a rape, who was given shelter by two Noidabased men, has delivered a baby girl at a Noida hospital.
In a rare display of humanity, the police, the health department, administration and civil society had arranged a shelter for the minor girl and ensured her well-being till the time of her delivery.
“The girl is still in the district hospital where she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Both the mother and child are safe,” Smita Pandey, founder of Holistic Well Being Services, Noida, said. “The girl was first taken to a private hospital for delivery but we insisted that we will provide her the best possible medical attention at our government hospital. Now, we will continue to help her until she is properly rehabilitated,” Dr Anurag Bhargav, chief medical officer, Gautam Budh Nagar, said.
The girl was earlier given shelter by two Noida men Chintu (18), a water deliveryman, and his elder brother Pintu (22), a car driver, at their house in a village in Noida Phase 3 area.
It was Chintu who had found the girl lying on the street in October, with a septic infection in her leg. The girl was begging
The girl was first taken to a private hospital for delivery but we insisted that we will provide her the best possible medical attention at our government hospital. Now, we will continue to help her until she is properly rehabilitated
DR ANURAG BHARGAV, chief medical officer, Gautam Budh Nagar
for food and Chintu decided to take her to a private hospital for a check-up. There, he found out that she was seven months pregnant.
The girl then revealed that she was lured into a relationship by a man named Suraj almost a year ago and they started living together in a Noida village. The accused then deserted the girl, after he found out that she was pregnant. The girl had lost her father a decade ago and her mother had died of illness two years ago.
When Chintu realised that the girl was pregnant, he brought her home — a two-room set spread over 70 square yards. The brothers then took care of the girl for over a month and ensured that she had regular medical checkups.
Chintu then arranged a room for her on a monthly rent of ₹3,500 out of his meagre income of ₹12,000 a month.
“It is a matter of joy for us to know that our little sister is safe, healthy and hearty with her child,” Chintu said.
A case was also lodged at the Phase 3 police station after which police arrested Suraj under the Indian Penal Code Section 376 for rape and sections of Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
“It was in the last week of November that the health department and the police approached the city magistrate and the girl was sent to a shelter home. It is a matter of pride that the entire city came together to save the girl,” Sanjeev Dixit, a resident of Sector 121, who had also helped the girl, said.
Now, it will be up to the minor girl to decide whether she would keep the child.
“For now, the girl and the child will be kept at the shelter home. However, if she decides to put up the infant for adoption, the child will be shifted to an orphanage in either Agra or Mathura,” Akhilesh Tripathi, station house officer, Phase 3 police station, said.