Kalamassery: Minor mother of abandoned' child traced
The minor mother had gone into hiding along with the youth.
Kochi: Ten days after foiling an attempt to abandon an infant near Kalamassery, the police on Saturday traced the mother, a minor, and booked a 23-year-old man for rape under the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. “We’ve traced the minor mother who had gone into hiding along with the youth. Based on her statement, we charged the man under IPC Section 375 and relevant provisions of POCSO. A report in this regard will be sent to the Childline authorities too,” a senior police official said. The minor girl’s statement was also recorded before the Aluva magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC.
However, the police had not yet booked the Muvattupuzha hospital where she delivered the baby for withholding information. “As per preliminary investigation, the girl was admitted to the hospital showing her age above 18. However, the hospital records will be analysed further. The priority now is to arrest the suspect who is still absconding,” said police. On April 13, the cops had taken into custody one Ebin Jose, who allegedly attempted to abandon a week-old infant after receiving a contract of Rs 40,000 as he tried to play good Samaritan and leave the baby with an NGO, Janaseva Sisubh-avan, saying he found the infant abandoned by the roadside.
The NGO alerted the police immediately, and the conspiracy got unravelled when they questioned him. He admitted having taken money for it. “Since the sexual assault happened under Eloor police station limit, the case will he handed over to them,” he said. The infant is now under the care of a shelter home in Ernakulam. It was the second case of a minor giving birth. In the first one, a DNA test confirmed that a 12-year-old boy had fathered a child with a 16-year-old.