Belthangady: Man accused of sexual assault, abortion of minor girl arrested

Belthangady: The prime accused in the case related to the sexual assault and forced abortion of a minor girl at Kadirudyavara has been arrested, police said.

The accused Sudhir (25) had been absconding ever since the case came to light. He is accused of sexually assaulting the minor girl as well as forcefully aborting the fetus of the pregnant girl.

Belthangady police have already arrested 2 others — Sudhir’s younger brother Manohar (23) and a relative Madhav alias Madu (55) of Konaje — who allegedly assisted Sudhir in getting the girl to undergo an abortion.

As per the complaint filed by the child welfare committee, the victim used to go to Sudhir’s house to watch television during the school holidays. On one such occasion, Sudhir took the victim to his grandmother’s house where he sexually assaulted her. Later when he came to know that the victim was pregnant he, with help from his family members, took her to a hospital to get an abortion done.

Upon getting knowledge of the incident, Belthangadi CDPO visited the spot to gather information but his effort went in vain. Later, counseling was held at the children’s home at Moodabidri and based on the statement given by the victim a POCSO case was registered against the accused on January 2.

After the case was registered, the main accused Sudhir went into hiding. Recently, a petition was submitted to the police by the Billava organizations demanding the arrest of the accused Sudhir.

Based on a piece of credible information that Sudhir was working around Chikkamagaluru, a police team arrested him on January 17. He will be produced before the court on January 18, police sources said.

It is learned that Sudhir’s mother Parvati (60) had assisted in the abortion. She had falsely stated that she was the mother of the girl at the hospital where the abortion was done.

Meanwhile, police are continuing the investigation.