Minor girl found dead in Palghar; cops launch probe

The body of a sixyearold girl was found on a hillock in Maharashtras Palghar district early Sunday morning police said reported news agency PTIThe cause of the death and how the girl resident of a locality under Pelhar police station limits reached the hillock were not yet known they saidThe body was found on Sriram Nagar hillock at around 430 am an official from Pelhar police station told PTIThe girl was identified and her parents were traced the official saidThe body was sent to a government hospital for postmortem he said adding a probe was on into the girls deathMinor girl raped forced to undergo abortion accused man doctor heldPolice have arrested a man for allegedly raping of a 17yearold girl and forcing her to undergo abortion on the basis of fake documents in Maharashtras Thane district officials said on Sunday reported PTIThe dead foetus which was buried at a crematorium in Ulhasnagar has been exhumed for further probe into the case they said adding that a doctor who provided medicines for the termination of the minors pregnancy has also been arrestedThe victim and the 29yearold accused man were neighbours at a locality in Ulhasnagar township reported PTIIn July last year the accused lured the victim to his home under the pretext of having dinner while his wife children and parents had gone to their native village Ulhasnagar central police stations senior inspector Shankar Avtade said reported PTIThe man allegedly raped the minor on multiple occasions and threatened to kill her if she informed about it to anyone the official saidThe victim later found she was pregnant and when she informed the accused about it he provided her with abortion pills given by a private practitioner he saidWhen the attempt failed the accuseds wife mother and motherinlaw allegedly conspired to force the victim who was seven months pregnant for an abortion last month the official saidWhen the the victims parents were away she was taken to a hospital The accused provided false identification and age details of the victim and doctors advised an abortion reported PTIThe abortion was subsequently conducted at a civic hospital in Kalyan the official saidThe accuseds wife and mother then hastily buried the foetus at a crematorium in Ulhasnagar he said reported PTIThe offences came to light on February 23 when the victim informed her mother after the latter returned from her villageFollowing this the victims family lodged a complaint at Ulhasnagar Central Police Station reported PTIThe police arrested the accused man on February 25 On Saturday night they also arrested the private medical practitioner who allegedly provided the abortion pills initially the official saidThe four other accused all women were yet to be apprehended he saidThe accused have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections on charges of rape forced abortion concealing evidence and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences POCSO Act the official saidWith inputs from PTI