On 23rd April the Thanjavur All-Women Police Force has arrested a 12-year-old boy under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for allegedly raping and impregnating a 17-year-old girl.

A police officer said the girl complained of a stomach ache on April 16 and was admitted to a hospital by her parents. When the doctors examined her, they found she was nine months pregnant. She subsequently gave birth to a girl.

“We received a call from the hospital on April 18 saying a 17-year-old girl had given birth to a child,” the office said. The victim, however, refused to give a complaint to the police against the minor boy. The girl was then taken for counselling and only after much convincing did she register a complaint.”

During the enquiry, the girl revealed she was in an intimate relationship with the boy and that he was responsible for the pregnancy. After this, the boy was booked under the POCSO Act and produced before a local court.
But the police was not sure if he was the actual father of the child.

“We have a doubt whether this boy was the reason for the girl’s pregnancy. She told us he is 15-year-old. But when we asked his parents, they said he was 12. To cross-check, we sought his records from school, but they did not have any,” the police said.

After hearing the case, the judge ordered a medical test on the boy and asked the police whether any other person was involved.