A 16-year-old girl was on Sunday held in Gorakhpur for allegedly killing her newborn last month. (Representational Image)

A 16-year-old girl was on Sunday held in Gorakhpur for allegedly killing her newborn last month. Her 50-year-old mother has also been arrested and booked for the murder.

Police said that the girl and her mother told them that the newborn girl was born out of rape and therefore they had killed the child.

According to police, they launched a probe after a decomposed body of a newborn child was found on January 31. “On the basis of evidence and confession, we caught the girl and her mother today (Sunday). The girl and her mother were produced before a local court today. The girl has been sent to a juvenile home and her mother to the district jail by the court,” said the SHO of the police station concerned.

Police said that they are also looking for a 30-year-old man who had allegedly raped the 16-year-old girl. The girl worked as a domestic help at the accused’s house and after he raped her, she got pregnant, said police. Police said that girl and her family told them that they did not file the case against the alleged rapist because he and his family had threatened them.

Police have also booked the 30-year-old man on charges of rape under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. They are also planning to conduct a DNA test.

“Based on the girl’s information, we have booked the accused who is on the run. Action against other persons would be taken after the accused is arrested and questioned. Police are looking for him,” said the SHO.

According to police, the decomposed body of a newborn girl was found wrapped in a cloth near a pond on January 31.

During the course of the investigation, police learnt that a girl in the area was pregnant and for the last few months had stopped moving outside her house. When the police reached the girl’s house, her family initially denied it. After they were questioned again, the girl and her parents confessed to throwing the newborn in the nearby drain, said police. “During the investigation, it came to light that the girl worked in the house of a 30-year-old man. The girl had claimed that she was raped by him, after which she got pregnant,” said the police.

“The girl’s family claimed that when they approached the accused and his family, they threatened them with dire consequences. Due to fear, the family did not approach the police and also did not go to a hospital. In January, the girl gave birth to a baby girl at home. After the child was born, the girl claimed that she threw it on the floor and she died. Later, her mother wrapped up the body in a cloth and threw it in a nearby drain. The autopsy report also stated that the newborn died of antemortem injuries,” said the police.