Pregnant teen says she was raped 8 months ago

A 17-year-old girl, in her eights month of pregnancy, alleged that she was raped by a 35-year-old man from her village.

The victim, hailing from Khaliguda village under Patri panchayat in Papadahandi block in Orissa’s Nabarangpur district, has approached the local police along with her parents and social activists seeking action against the culprit.

According to the police, the accused, identified as Abhi Bhadra, allegedly raped the girl while she was out on the field to attend nature’s call some eight months back.

“He pinned me down to the ground and forced my shawl inside my throat when I shouted for help. I pleaded him to spare me, but he did not pay any heed to it. Instead, he threatened to kill me if I revealed the incident to anyone,” said the victim explaining her long silence.

The incident came to fore recently after the physical changes were noticed due to pregnancy. Although the family members of the victim attempted to sort the issue out at the village court, they had to approach the police after they were unable to get justice there.

“Abhi Bhadra has done this mischief with my daughter. She did not tell anyone about the incident out of fear. However, it came to fore after her mother grilled her following the physical changes. I tried to sort it out in the village court after her mother told me about the incident. However, we could not reach a solution. That’s when I approached a social organisation, Maa Ghar, and they helped us reach the police,” said the father of the victim.

An FIR has been filed based on the complaint.

“We have started an investigation,” said inspector Subhas Chandra Raiguru of the Dabugaon police station.