Rape survivor isolates in makeshift hut after getting COVID-19, shifted to govt facility

Officials suspect that she might have contracted the virus at a Sakhi women rehabilitation centre, where she was lodged for a week, after she was allegedly raped by two men.
COVID19 isolation
COVID19 isolation
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A 15-year-old rape survivor and her mother were forced to take shelter in a makeshift structure in the fields near her home in Telangana after they both tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this week. The girl was living with her parents and brother in a small thatched hut at a tribal hamlet in Veernapalli mandal in Rajanna Siricilla district. According to reports, the makeshift structure was set up using sticks and tarpaulin sheets by the girl’s brother and father, to accommodate their isolation.

According to a report in Telangana Today, the girl is a Class 10 student and officials suspect that she might have contracted the virus at a Sakhi women rehabilitation centre, where she was lodged for a week, after she was allegedly raped by two men recently. Authorities said that her mother, who is an agricultural labourer, might have contracted the virus from her daughter after she returned home. According to senior police officials, as far as the rape case is concerned, two men have been arrested after a case was registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The two accused are relatives of the girl's family, the police said.

Speaking to TNM, Rajanna Siricilla Superintendent of Police (SP) Rahul Hegde said, "The girl was taken to a hospital where she tested positive for the coronavirus. Doctors suggested home isolation. Officials were willing to take her to a government isolation centre, but the girl wanted to go back home." He further added, "However, later it has come to the notice of officials that she was facing difficulties in safely isolating at home. She has been shifted to the government-run COVID-19 isolation centre."

Initially it was alleged that the girl and her 38-year-old mother were not allowed into the village fearing the spread of COVID-19. However, Veernapalli Sub Inspector of Police Ravinder said that the makeshift structure was set up by the family as it was not possible to safely isolate at their hut. The SI said "As theirs was a small house (hut), they have arranged a makeshift structure nearby. No one has forced them to stay away or boycotted them."

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