Even as the entire country celebrated Raksha Bandhan, a horrific case of sexual assault by a brother came to light in Aurangabad, where a 17-year-old girl died by suicide after getting pregnant due to repeated sexual assault by her cousin brother.
According to the Veergaon police, the complaint was registered on Wednesday after the victim’s parents approached the police. Officials said that the victim, who was the daughter of a farmer, took her own life by consuming pesticide on Wednesday. She was rushed to a local hospital where she was declared dead before admission. Following her death, the Veergaon police made inquiries with her parents and the sordid story came to light.
“The victim’s mother told us that two days ago, after noticing repeated changes in her daughter, she had finally confronted the victim, who broke down and confessed that she was pregnant. The victim further told her stunned mother that her 25-year-old cousin brother, who stays in the same area, had forced himself on her, leading to the pregnancy,” said an officer with the Veergaon police station.
The officer added that, according to the victim’s confession to her mother, the cousin's brother first sexually assaulted the victim around nine months ago. The victim was alone at home at the time and the accused came to visit her, and forced himself on her. He left after threatening to kill her if she told anyone about it.
The terrified victim stayed silent and encouraged by this, the accused allegedly repeated the crime several more times over the next few months. At the time of the victim’s death, she was six months pregnant, said, officers.
“We immediately registered an FIR and arrested the accused from his residence. He has been remanded in our custody till August 13 and we are interrogating him further to get more details about the offence,” the officer said.
Superintendent of Police Maneesh Kalwaniya, Aurangabad Rural police confirmed the incident and that the accused had been arrested. The accused has been charged with sexual assault and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code, along with relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
