A rape survivor, a single mother, and 9-month-old baby: Custody battle grips Varanasi

The officer added the child remains in the care of the woman who has been raising the baby until now.

According to police, the first woman had lodged a complaint accusing a man of raping her on the pretext of marriage, after which she became pregnant and gave birth to a child. Police said while the alleged assault took place last year, the complaint was registered this January.

The woman told police that she was informed her baby had gone missing after delivery. In her complaint, she also accused the hospital of allegedly having a hand in her baby’s disappearance.

Following the registration of the case, the accused man booked in the rape case was arrested and sent to jail.

ACP Kumar said the rape survivor had recently approached police, claiming she had learned that a baby boy being raised by a woman in a neighbouring locality was, in fact, her child. She did not disclose how she came to know about it.

Acting on the information, police contacted the woman who had been caring for the infant.

During the inquiry, officers found that the child had been entrusted to her by her relative.

Police subsequently traced and questioned the second woman, who told them that the baby was hers but that she had chosen not to raise him herself because of the social stigma attached to unmarried mothers.

Both women were later called to the police station. However, when discussions failed to resolve the dispute over the child’s parentage, police decided to seek a DNA test.