A schoolteacher and his brother were arrested in connection with the rape and abortion-caused death of a 15-year-old girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district. The minor was allegedly raped repeatedly by the teacher in her school over the last few months, resulting in pregnancy and her death following an abortion bid.
Police have arrested the accused, Khalid Ahmed Sheikh, a Teacher Grade-II and the in-charge headmaster of Middle School Bumalpora in Inderwal, along with his brother.
The girl died late on Thursday evening while being taken for an abortion, sources said. Her body along with that of the stillborn child were taken to her village, triggering protests in Chatroo and other parts of Kishtwar on Friday. The duo were arrested by the police on Friday, news agency PTI said.
According to locals, the girl had been pregnant for months. About a fortnight ago, she complained of stomach pain and was taken to a local health centre, where a medical examination revealed her pregnancy.
The girl subsequently told her parents that the teacher had sexually assaulted her repeatedly. Locals alleged that the accused had offered money to the girl's family members and threatened them against approaching the police.
On Wednesday, the accused and his brother allegedly took the girl to a health facility in Kishtwar for an abortion, accompanied by her father and uncle. Following a medical examination, she was reportedly referred to another facility, where an attempt was made to induce delivery through surgery, sources reportedly told PTI.
During the procedure, her condition allegedly deteriorated and she delivered a stillborn child, they said. Later, the girl also died.
According to PTI, case was registered at the Chatroo police station under sections 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 65(1) (rape of a woman below 16 years), 90 (death caused by an act intended to cause miscarriage), 91 (act intended to prevent a child from being born alive or to cause its death after birth), and 92 (causing the death of a quick unborn child by an act amounting to culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, besides sections 4 (punishment for penetrative sexual assault), 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 8 (punishment for sexual assault), 10 (punishment for aggravated sexual assault), and 17 (punishment for abetment) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Friday.
