A 15-year-old girl, who became pregnant after being raped, died on Saturday at west Delhi’s DDU Hospital, where she was admitted after her 22-week pregnancy was illegally terminated, the police said on Sunday.
A person who claims to be a minor has been apprehended for the rape, but the police are yet to determine who was responsible for the botched termination of the pregnancy, said Deepak Purohit, deputy commissioner of police (west).
“The child was taken to the hospital by her parents. We are trying to speak to them to find out who terminated the pregnancy, as well as what methods and medication were used,” Purohit said. The police will have more clarity once the autopsy is performed on Monday by a team of doctors.
In the meantime, the police have registered a case of rape and under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act against the apprehended suspect. “We have also added sections of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing disappearance of evidence, and it will be applicable against whoever was behind the termination,” Purohit added.
An abandoned foetus was found on Sunday in the same premises of the hospital, but the police said there was nothing to link the two incidents. “The girl’s pregnancy had already been terminated by the time she was admitted to the hospital by her parents on Friday evening,” Purohit said.
The girl lived with her parents in Naraina and was a school dropout. Her father is employed at a factory in the locality. The apprehended boy who claims to be a minor lived in their building itself. The police, however, suspect he is an adult. “We are getting his age determined,” the DCP said.
The suspect works at a printing press in west Delhi.
The suspect allegedly befriended the girl and raped her, leaving her pregnant. “When her parents got to know of the boy befriending their daughter, they confronted and forced him to relocate. He eventually moved to Rajouri Garden,” said another investigator, who asked not to be named.
“Her pregnancy was terminated recently. That led to complications, and her condition deteriorated. On Friday evening, her parents brought her to DDU Hospital in a serious condition. She died on Saturday morning, after which doctors alerted us around 9.30am,” Purohit said.
The suspect was identified after the police started questioning people who knew the girl. He was subsequently apprehended and booked. The police continue to probe the circumstances of the termination of the pregnancy which led to her death. However, they are yet to determine whether it took place at a hospital, or elsewhere.
