“I will take care of my baby on my own,” says a 15-year-old girl, who gave birth to a baby girl three months ago. The minor girl from a village in Arakalgud taluk was allegedly raped by two persons known to her in the village. She gave birth to a baby girl in August this year.
A non-governmental organisation, headed by a doctor in Hassan, recently approached the girl’s family to know if she wanted to hand over the baby to the NGO’s adoption centre. The girl and her parents refused to give away the baby.
TheArakalgud police also suggested the girl’s family to handover the baby to the NGO as they were very poor. “We will take care of the baby,” said the mother of the rape victim. Meanwhile, the girl’s family has been allegedly facing threats from the relatives of the accused, who have been remanded to judicial custody in connection with the case.
Harassment“They often come to our place and pick a quarrel with us. They allege that we have ruined their families by filing a case against them,” the girl said.
The girl, who had discontinue her studies after eighth standard, now spends her time on taking care of the baby. Her mother said, the family could not afford to pay the school fees. “We are daily wage-workers. Her brother is studying in 10th standard. We cannot afford the educational expenses of both the children,” the mother said.
The incident of rape came to light in July this year, when she was seven-month pregnant. Her parents filed a case against Ramesh and Yogish of the village, who were arrested by the police. “We have sent blood samples to the forensic laboratory to ascertain father’s identity. So far, the report has not reached us,” said Shashidhar, Circle Inspector of Police, Arakalgud.
