Teen rape survivor gives birth in MP's Jabalpur; accused held

Jabalpur: A 16-year-old girl, allegedly raped by a man who befriended her on social media, gave birth at a government hospital in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur, police said on Friday.

The police on Thursday arrested the 21-year-old accused, who had earlier forced the girl to consume abortion pills, additional superintendent of police Suryakant Sharma told reporters.

He said the accused befriended the girl on Instagram last year and allegedly raped her in a hut on the outskirts of a village in October.

The official said when the girl told the accused about the pregnancy three months later, he allegedly forced her to consume abortion pills. As the pregnancy could not be terminated, he promised to marry the teenager but later backtracked.

The girl, who lives with her father in a village, experienced labour pain on Tuesday night, and he found out about the pregnancy, the ASP said.

He said the girl was referred to the government medical college and hospital, where she gave birth on Wednesday.

The hospital management informed the police, following which a case under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was registered against the accused, the official said.