A 19-year-old man was arrested by the Coimbatore police on Tuesday evening for allegedly sexually abusing his 13-year-old cousin multiple times. The crime came to light after the Class 7 girl was found five-months pregnant when she was taken to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where she delivered a stillborn baby.
The foetus had died inside the womb as she was too young to carry it.
Superintendent of Police, Moorthy told TNM, “The girl was admitted to the Coimbatore government hospital few days ago after she complained of stomach pain. She was found five-months pregnant and a stillborn baby was delivered. It was then she told her parents about the sexual abuse by her cousin.”
It was after the girl informed her parents about the sexual abuse that a complaint was filed at the Thudiyalur police station.
A case has been registered under Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCS0) Act section 5(n) (whoever being a relative of the child through blood or adoption or marriage or guardianship or foster care or having a domestic relationship with a parent of the child or who is living in the same or shared household with the child, commits penetrative sexual assault on such child) and section 6 (whoever commits aggravated penetrative sexual assault, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine).
Indhiran was arrested and later remanded to judicial custody.
She is studying in Class VIII and her parents are daily wage workers. Police say that she was usually alone at home after returning from school and knowing this fact, the accused Indhiran came home and sexually abused the girl five months ago.
Police also say that the girl did not inform her parents about the sexual abuse as she was afraid and did not understand what had happened to her.
In the recent weeks, a number of child sexual abuse cases have been reported in Tamil Nadu.
Last week, a 65-year-old woman had hacked her son to death for attempting to sexually abuse his 19-year-old daughter in Sivaganga district.
In another case in April, a 15-year-old girl had committed suicide by setting herself ablaze after being allegedly raped by her uncle last September. He had also been constantly threatening to release the video he had filmed while sexually abusing her. She had told her family members about the incident but they failed to report it to the police citing family honour.