Chencho Dema

Punakha – The case of an alleged rape of a minor by a 20-year-old man has been forwarded to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) on September 20.

The man is accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, his cousin, in Punakha last year while intoxicated. The girl gave birth to a boy on August 25 in a hospital in Wangdue.

Kuensel learnt that the suspect has been charged with a rape of a child above the age of 12 years.

The amended section, 183, states that a defendant shall be guilty of the offence of rape of a child above the age of 12 years if the defendant commits any act of sexual intercourse against a child between the ages of 12 to 18 years. However, consensual sex between children of 16 years and above shall not be deemed to be rape.

The incident was reported to the Punakha police by one of the teachers of the school where the victim was studying after the teacher came to know about the girl’s pregnancy.

The girl is a student in one of the schools in Punakha studying in class VI. The girl was warned not to tell anyone about the incident.

The suspect is said to be a farmer. He also worked as a daily wage labourer. He was arrested from Khuruthang town after the incident was reported to Police. Both the victim and the suspect are from the same village.

Kuensel also learned that the girl has temporarily stopped her studies but will resume next year.