Mumbai: Man arrested for marrying, raping 15-year-old; girl delivers baby

The police said the child marriage took place in the central suburbs in January, but the incident came to light on Friday, when the 15-year-old girl delivered a girl at JJ hospital. “Before delivering the baby, when the doctors at the hospital asked for the mother’s age, her husband and in-laws said that she was 20 years old,” said an officer. When the doctors asked for the Aadhaar card of the mother for the birth certificate of the newborn, it showed that she was born in June 2006. Doctors informed Agripada police, as the marriage was conducted in its jurisdiction. A case was registered on Sunday.

“Late last year, as the mother was not in a position to take care of her daughter financially, she stopped her education and got her married to the accused,” said the officer. The girl has studied till Class V, he added. “As the husband and his parents knew that she was a minor but still went ahead with the wedding, they were named in the case,” said an officer.

After the wedding in January, which took place in the presence of the girl’s mother, her in-laws and the cleric, she started staying at the man’s Sewri house and was raped repeatedly, said police. “After she conceived, she was taken to JJ hospital multiple times for check-ups, but they always lied that she was an adult,” said the officer.

Senior Inspector Shriram Koregaonkar of Agripada police station confirmed the arrest but refused to divulge further details in the case. The man was on Monday produced in court, which remanded him in police custody till December 24.

The police are currently in the lookout for the cleric who solemnised the marriage.