12-yr-old rape survivor delivers baby

Madhya Pradesh: A 12-year-old rape survivor, whose abortion plea was turned down by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, has delivered a baby through a C-section at the district hospital here.

Dr Indira Gupta, a gynaecologist at the Khargone District Hospital, said, “The girl delivered an infant boy weighing around 2.6 kg through C-section last night (Tuesday). Both the girl and the infant are stable and in good health.”

The police were informed about the development and a DNA test would be conducted on the baby, as is normally done in such cases (for the purpose of investigation), she said. Advocate Rajendra Singh Parmar, who represents the girl, said her parents are ready to take care of the baby.

“Parents of the rape survivor are ready to take care of the infant. But we are looking for institutions or individuals who can bring up the child up to the age of one,” Parmar said. The girl was allegedly raped by a 21-year-old engineering student, her distant cousin, and the crime came to light when she was taken to hospital for stomach ache in August and was found to be over 20-weeks pregnant.

A case was registered on August 24 and the accused was arrested. Her parents first moved the district court seeking permission to abort the foetus, but the court refused permission on medical grounds. The parents then approached the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Indore bench.

The high court ordered a fresh medical examination, but the doctors’ report advised against termination of pregnancy. Following this, the high court denied permission for abortion and ordered monitoring of the girl’s health by medical experts.