Hyderabad: Man held for raping, impregnating mentally challenged minor girl

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police have arrested a 48-year-old man for allegedly raping a mentally challenged 15-year-old girl, following which she became pregnant.

The accused, a tailor by profession, allegedly raped the girl on multiple occasions over the past few months at a house in Trimulgherry area at Hyderabad after offering her water laced with a sedative, the police said.

The girl used to work as a helper at the house of a woman, who ran a cloth business, where the man was employed as a tailor, a release from the Hyderabad police said.

Some days back, the girl took ill following which her mother took her to a state-run hospital where it came to light that the minor was pregnant, it said.

When her mother enquired, the girl, who is mentally challenged, told that a man working at the woman’s house used to give her water after drinking which she felt drowsy. He allegedly raped her four or five times in that condition, the release said.

The girl’s mother then lodged a complaint with the police on July 18, it said.

The man was arrested on Saturday and booked under IPC section 376 (rape) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, it said.

Under IPC section 376, a convict faces a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

The woman, at whose house the survivor worked, was also arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act for employing a minor, the release said.