The Malvani police on Sunday arrested a 30-year-old woman (the child’s mother) and her 19-year-old lover for allegedly raping and murdering the woman’s two-and-a-half-year-old daughter. The incident occurred on Sunday. The police charged both with gang rape and booked them under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act.
According to the police, the crime took place between 2 pm and 3 pm on Sunday. The accused woman’s husband had abandoned her three years ago while she was pregnant, forcing her to live alone. Two years ago, she gave birth to a daughter. A few months back, she came in contact with the teenage accused, and the two began a relationship.
Police reports state that the teen expressed a desire to establish a physical relationship with the toddler, and the mother allegedly permitted it. The accused teen then sexually assaulted the girl in front of her mother. When the child cried in pain, he smothered her with a pillow. The girl lost consciousness, after which her mother took her to the nearby General Hospital in Jankalyan Nagar, Malvani.
A police officer stated, “The girl’s mother lied to the doctors, claiming the child had suffered an epileptic seizure. However, upon examination, doctors found internal organ injuries and marks on her body. The hospital staff alerted the police, who arrived and detained the woman. The post-mortem later confirmed that the girl died due to rape and smothering. Based on the medical report, we arrested both the mother and her lover.”
The officer added, “When the teen covered the girl’s mouth with a pillow, her mother assisted him. Investigations suggest that since the girl was from the woman’s first husband, both accused may have wanted her gone.”
Police revealed that neither accused was employed. The woman’s mother, a housemaid, supported the household. The teen, accused, unemployed, and reliant on his father’s earnings, a labourer.
The police registered the case under sections 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 10 (punishment for aggravated sexual assault), and 21 (sexual offense against a child) of the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act and sections 70 (gang rape), 64 (punishment for rape), 65(2) (punishment for rape in certain cases), 66 (punishment for causing death or persistent vegetative state), 103 (punishment for murder), 238 (disappearing evidence/false information), and 3(5) (general explanation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
