Minor rape victim’s baby fights for life

THE 16YEAROLD GIRL WAS REPEATEDLY RAPED BY HER FATHER’S FRIEND WHO USED TO OFTEN VISIT THEIR HOUSE

The baby who was abandoned by her mother, 16, a rape victim, is fighting for her life at the neo-natal ICU at the district hospital in Dewas.

The mother was also ostracised by her family after her pregnancy became apparent. She stayed at the Sakhi Centre, a rescue home for girls in Ujjain, for over three months and gave birth to the child on April 19.

Sakhi centre administrator Premlata Mehta said neither the mother nor her family wanted to take care of the baby. That’s why she will be sent to a state-run orphanage in Ujjain.

Premata said they counseled the victim a lot, but she refused to take care of the child. She did not even show any interest in studies either.

“We have decided that she will be sent to the rescue home for girls in Ujjain, where she will learn tailoring so that she is able to earn her livelihood,” Premlata said.

As for the baby she will be put up for adoption in due course of time, officials of the district administration, who are closely monitoring the situation, said.

The victim lived at a slum on AB Road under the Dewas Kotwali police station. She was repeatedly raped by a 55-yearold man, who was her father’s friend and used to come to the house frequently. Terrified, she did not tell her family about the ordeal. However, when she became pregnant, neighbours and family members pressed her and she divulged how she was a victim of rape.

The neighbours then caught hold of Nooruddin and handed him over to the police which booked him and sent him to jail.

“She will never get any support from the father, or her family. So, we are not surprised that she has decided to abandon the child. She wants to start afresh and the child will remind her of her ordeal. We have noticed similar reaction from rape victims who have conceived and given birth,” an official said.