Kochi: A 14-year-old girl, who was allegedly raped by three friends of her father in September, died at the Kottayam Medical College on Monday. The girl hailing from a poor family at Kalamassery was suffering from a kidney problem and cerebral palsy from a young age. On September 14, three of her father’s friends reached the house in an inebriated condition and allegedly sexually assaulted her when their parents had gone out. “The autopsy report says she died of an infection in her brain. Though she suffered no life-threatening injuries during the sexual assault, she was mentally down after the incident. Her other ailments worsened and she was frequently admitted to hospitals in the last two months,” a senior police official said.
Soon after the incident in September, she was admitted to the Kalamassery Medical College. She was discharged after two weeks when she responded to treatment well. However, her health deteriorated on November 26 when she was admitted to the Kottayam Medical College. Her father, a drunkard, died a month ago. “We’re taking steps to conduct a detailed autopsy again to know the exact cause of her death,” the officer said.
The victim is survived by her elder brother and her mother, who does domestic chores in the neighbourhood for a living. Earlier, based on a complaint lodged by ChildLine activists, the Kalamassery police had arrested Ravi (49), Raju (36) and Rajesh (31) in September and registered a case under the relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO).
