A person working as a secretary at an orphanage in Hyderabad was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly repeatedly sexually assaulting a 15-year-old inmate.
The accused, identified as 55-year-old Sunith Kumar, was running an NGO for children in Secunderabad.
According to Times of India, the victim called her distant relative and informed him about the sexual assault. After coming to know of the repeated assault, the relative reportedly filed a case against Sunith.
She said Sunith threatened her not to reveal about the assault to anyone.
Following the complaint, police on Tuesday registered a case under Sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and section 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
“There were several allegations against the man, but nobody had come forward to lodge a complaint till now. Many women working for the NGO had quit because of the harassment,” Hyderabad-based child rights activist Achyuta Rao told Deccan Chronicle.
As per the DC report, the girl is said to be pregnant.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report for 2015, Telangana recorded sixth highest instances of rape of minors.
The report reveals that 705 cases of child rape were registered from Telangana, as against 489 in the neighbouring state of Andhra Pradesh.
Telangana Today reported that there has been an increase in the cases that were registered under different sections of POCSO Act, which involved sexual assault and harassment of children.
“Many victims face sexual violence from persons related to them, and since the offender is a family relative or member, children do not share their trauma with anyone else,” Stuti Kacker, Chairperson, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights told the newspaper.