Transgender Woman Faces Gang Rape Charges After Admitting To Kidnapping, Murdering 3-Month-Old Baby

A 30-year-old transgender woman who admitted to kidnapping and killing a 3-month-old baby in the Indian state of Maharashtra last week now faces additional gang rape charges, along with her accomplice, after it was discovered that the victim had suffered injuries near her private parts.

The woman, identified in a previous report as Kanu Chogule, had been accused of kidnapping the victim in their south Mumbai home on July 9 after the infant's parents refused to give her gift money over the child's birth.

Kanu and an aide, identified as Sonu, were later arrested by police after the victim's family filed a complaint and the transgender woman confessed to the crime, a recent report by newspaper The Times of India said. Additionally, Kanu had told police that the child had been buried in a marshy patch near the area.

Authorities slapped new gang rape charges and offences under the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against the two after receiving a post-mortem report Monday, which ruled that the child died due to drowning, police said.

"As per the post-mortem report, there were some injuries near the girl's private parts," an unnamed police officer was quoted as saying by The Times of India. The officer added that the duo's blood samples have been collected and a DNA test will be conducted to determine who sexually assaulted the child.

The new charges against the two were filed under section 376 DB (punishment for gang rape on a woman under 12 years of age) as well as relevant sections of the 2012 POCSO Act, senior police inspector Rajkumar Dongare said, as per The Indian Express.

According to police, Kanu and Sonu are currently in police custody and their interrogation is still ongoing.

Authorities have named Kanu as transgender in the cases even though the family members of the victim accused her of just pretending to be one.

"We will send [Kanu] for a medical examination that will help us ascertain whether [she] is a transgender person," an investigating officer was quoted as saying by the outlet.