The Krishnagiri district police have arrested two men and are on the lookout for a third man after a 17-year-old girl was found to be eight months pregnant during a test at a government hospital. The three men are accused of raping the girl in separate incidents over a period of one year. The girl and her family did not realise she was pregnant, and it was only after the test that the girl opened up to her family about the repeated sexual abuse.
The accused include 55-year-old Udhayanan, a newly married man named Sakthi, and a close relative of the family called Ramaraj. Udhayanan and Sakthi have been arrested while Ramaraj is absconding. The incident happened near Kaveripattinam.
According to the police, the minor, who dropped out of school after Class 10, would alternately stay with her maternal uncle and her mother over the last year. She was being assaulted by the three men on separate occasions for the last year. Udhayanan lived near her uncle's house, Sakthi was a relative of the girl, and Ramaraj is a close relative of the family and lived near the girl's mother's house.
"The girl was very scared but she didn't understand that what they were doing to her was wrong or that she should tell someone. Prima facie, it looks like she kept quiet about it. We are checking whether they threatened or blackmailed her," says an investigating officer.
Her parents, say the police, realised what had happened only when they visited a hospital.
"She has told her mother that her menstrual cycle was disrupted. Her mother asked if she was feeling any pain and when she said no they just let it go for a couple of months," says the investigating officer. "The family thought it was some kind of growth in the stomach that was causing issues and bloating. But when they finally went to the hospital for a scan, the doctor informed them that she was eight months pregnant. When they sat her down, she explained the abuse she was facing," adds the officer.
The police then immediately arrested Udhayanan. Sakthi was picked up hours after his wedding and was brought in his groom's attire to the station.
"The family itself could be hiding Ramraj because he is a close relative. We are on the lookout for him," says the police official. "The girl meanwhile is in a government home to ensure her safety.”