Go to accused: Mother tells minor rape survivor in Punjab

CHANDIGARH: A special court had to send a minor survivor of rape to Nari Niketan on Thursday after her mother refused to take her home.

The girl, 14, had earlier wished to go with the accused and claimed that her life was under threat at home. Her mother, who had reported her missing on July 10, 2018, has now stated in the court that “she should go with the accused’s family and stay there for good”. The survivor was in juvenile home ever since scientific evidence filed in court proved her to be minor.

The prosecution says that the girl eloped from a market with her boyfriend, who was arrested on July 27 from Hardoi, Uttar Pradesh, before police also recovered her. The defence argued that the girl and the accused were in a consensual relationship and that the boy was also a minor, sent to the juvenile home after an ossification (bone remodeling) test verified his age.

Defence lawyer Manjeet Kaur submitted that the minor had recorded in her statement that she had run away with the boy out of will and that she wished to marry him. Besides, the girl claims that her life was under threat at home and her mother also has refused to take her back. For the girl’s safety, the court was forced to send her to Nari Niketan shelter for women.