A 13-year-old girl, admitted for tuberculosis treatment at BYL Nair hospital, revealed to doctors on Tuesday that she was being raped by her neighbour for years. The doctors examined her and confirmed the abuse.
The girl, a resident of Agripada, was admitted to the hospital on July 9 after she lost consciousness in her home. A doctor, requesting anonymity, said, “She was brought to the hospital in a critical condition. Her mother told us that she had been suffering from fever for sometime, and she also had lost a lot of weight. We conducted a few tests, which revealed that she was suffering from tuberculosis in the abdomen.”
The doctor added, “We then started the treatment and her condition improved. After a week, on Monday, she was shifted to a general ward. Her mother was accompanied by a man, identified as Kishan Solanki (28), a neighbour, at the time. The girl later told us that Solanki had been touching her inappropriately. She looked scared and kept reiterating that she did not want to see the man again. We immediately called a member of the Multi-Disciplinary Child Protection Centre at the hospital to examine her.”
The girl told the centre members that Solanki used to molest her and also threatened her to not reveal the incidents to anybody. The committee doctors immediately called the Agripada police to record her statement and a case of molestation was registered. Solanki was arrested the same day. After his arrest, however, the girl revealed that she was actually being raped by the man for the last four years.
“Realising that there was a chance for justice, the girl told us that Solanki used to come to her house every time her mother was out for work. He also threatened to kill her. She tried to tell her mother a couple of times but she was very scared,” said a doctor.
The medical examination confirmed rape. The report was submitted to Agripada police. “We have recorded the supplementary statement of the victim. The accused has been booked under section 376 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,” said an official from the Agripada police station.(MM)
