A 17-year-old girl from Maharashtra’s Palghar district reportedly became friendly with a 23-year-old man from another religion and engaged in a sexual relationship. The teenager’s life began taking a tragic turn when her parents got to know about her pregnancy. She was impregnated again and her newborns were sold off.
According to a report in Times of India, the girl filed a police complaint alleging that she was impregnated twice by two different men and that her parents, along with a school principal, two women doctors, a social worker, a lawyer, and several others conspired to sell one of her newborns.
At least 16 people, including the teenager’s parents, have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act for rape and selling a child.
The report quoted the teenager telling the police that after her sexual relationship with the 23-year-old man in 2021, her parents discovered her pregnancy during the second trimester. They sought assistance from the school principal and social worker.
The girl, a class 7 dropout, was then taken to a private hospital for regular check-ups and delivery. She also mentioned that during pregnancy, her parents took her to a location in Mumbai, where an advocate had them sign some documents, TOI stated.
On September 24, 2021, she gave birth to a girl, who was handed over to the social worker the following day. The teenager was warned not to speak about the delivery, the publication mentioned.
TOI further stated that six months after the delivery, she managed to contact the child’s father, who claimed to have paid Rs 4 lakh to the social worker. He expressed his desire to marry her, but was warned by the mediators to stay away.
According to the publication, the teenager alleged that her parents and an uncle received Rs 1.5 lakh each, while the social worker and some other people shared the remaining Rs 1 lakh. When she confronted her parents, they sent her to her grandmother’s place, where her family arranged a marriage with a 23-year-old man.
The couple engaged in a sexual relationship, resulting in another pregnancy. The man, however, learned about the teen’s first pregnancy and child. He then refused to marry her.
The teenager returned to her parents’ home and met an acquaintance, who helped her deliver her second baby, a boy, in his native town in Amravati on March 21, the report stated, adding that the acquaintance has also been booked for not informing the police about a minor’s sexual assault.
The teenager claimed that her parents were pressuring her to sell the baby, prompting her to leave home and seek help from another social worker to file a police complaint. Police are investigating the whereabouts of the baby girl who was allegedly sold, and also are looking for the advocate who had prepared the child sale agreement, TOI stated.
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