A 12-year-old boy has been booked by the Thanjavur All Women Police for allegedly impregnating a 17-year-old girl. The incident came to light after the minor girl gave birth to a baby at the Government Raja Mirasudar Hospital, on April 16.  The boy has been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and has been sent to a juvenile home.

According to police, they received information from the police outpost at the hospital stating that a 17-year-old girl had given birth to a baby girl. The girl had been admitted to Raja Mirasudar government hospital on April 16 after she complained of stomach pain. Doctors who examined her found that she was nine months pregnant and she gave birth to a baby girl the same day. After the police were informed, she was questioned when she claimed that she and the 12-year-old boy, who lived in the same neighbourhood, were in a ‘relationship’ for the past few years and she got pregnant.

However, police had told IANS that even though the girl had named the 12-year-old boy, the police are investigating whether anyone else was involved in the incident. Further, according to a Times Of India report, police inspector Ravimathi had said, “The girl and her parents feigned ignorance of her pregnancy till she delivered a baby. We have decided to ascertain the boy’s age using scientific methods and a DNA test.”

An FIR has been registered under sections 5(i), 5 (j)(ii) (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of POCSO Act and the boy was taken into custody and sent to a juvenile home in Thanjavur.

(With IANS and PTI inputs)