Police have arrested a college student on charges of raping a 14-year-old Dalit girl, who is five months pregnant, at Kolandi village near Kalayarkoil in the district.

 

All Women Police, Sivaganga, arrested M. Govindaraj (21) on Monday under Section 376 of Indian Penal Code and Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSOA), 2012, for sexually abusing the girl, studying class X in a local government school, for nearly a year.

 

He was produced before District Sessions Judge S. Thangakani who directed the police to detain him at the Borstal school in Thanjavur as he was below 21 years, police said.

 

U. Vimala, Sub-Inspector of Police, who enquired into the matter, said Govindaraj, studying third-year B.Sc., was in love with the girl and had been sexually abusing her for nearly a year. The girl became pregnant and it came to light early this month when her school teacher noticed and informed her parents.

 

Without informing the police, the two families tried to sort out the issue by asking the boy to marry her. As he refused to marry her and bought her tablets to abort the pregnancy, Ayyavu, the girl’s father, a goat herd, lodged a complaint with the All Women police on November 11.

 

The boy, who was evading police enquiry for the past 10 days, appeared before the police on Monday and offered to marry the girl, police said. However, when the police brought the issue to his notice, N. Sivakumar, District Probation Officer, Department of Social Defence, advised the police to register a case against the boy and arrest him.

 

The marriage could not be solemnised any way as the victim was a minor, he said.

 

Even if it was consensual sex, the boy was liable to be arrested as the girl was a minor, he told The Hindu .

 

If the case was compromised, the police could be proceeded against for failure to record the case, and the parents of the victim for failure to report the case under POCSOA, he warned.

 

The Hindu