Disabled Man Allegedly Rapes 13-Year-Old Niece Multiple Times, Impregnates Her

A visually-impaired man in India was arrested Sunday for allegedly raping his 13-year-old niece multiple times over a span of six months.

The police said the incident came to light after the teenager's family found out she was pregnant. Three days ago, the girl complained of a stomach ache, following which her family took her for a medical examination. The checkup revealed the minor was five months pregnant. On being asked several times, the girl told her mother her uncle raped her several times, and had also threatened her with dire consequences if she told anyone about the sexual assault, the Hindu reported.

The girl’s parents immediately approached the Jagadgirigutta police in the southern city of Hyderabad and filed a complaint. The police filed a case under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, India Today reported. It was not revealed whether the uncle lived with the family. The current condition of the teenger remains unknown.

There have been several instances in the past when minor girls in India have been sexually assaulted by someone close to them. In many of the cases, the girls have been impregnated.

Last year in the northern state of Haryana, a man was arrested for raping and impregnating his minor daughter. The unidentified 17-year-old victim accused her father of assaulting her mother and throwing her out of the home on June 11, 2018. The same night, he reportedly raped her. A few months later, the accused rushed his daughter to a local hospital after she complained of stomach pain. Medical examination revealed the girl was pregnant. After returning home, the accused “forcefully fed" the victim an abortion pill. The accused was booked and charged with rape and criminal intimidation. Charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were also filed against him.

Despite strict laws being imposed in the country in the last few years, crime against women has been on the rise.