Kelzang Wangchuk | Samdrupjongkhar

The Office of the Attorney General on July 7 authorised the Samdrupjongkhar police to prosecute the suspected minor rape case that occurred in Wangphu gewog in court.

The police registered the case on May 26 after the gewog officials reported that a 12-year-old girl gave birth to a baby boy on the night of May 25. Police arrested the 35-year-old suspect on the same day. The police forwarded the case to the OAG on July 6.

The health assistant (HA) of Wangphu primary health centre (PHC) reported the matter to the gewog officials because the victim’s parents took her to the PHC as the condition of her baby was worsening. The victim is a class VI student of one of the schools in the gewog.

According to the suspect’s statement to police, the victim came to the suspect’s house with his mother during the first nationwide lockdown and remained there.

He stated: “I didn’t rape her instead, we spend a night together mutually.”

However, according to the victim’s statement to police, she went to the suspect’s house as his mother called her mother to send her to guard the orange because there was no one at home during the second nationwide lockdown.

The victim stated that the suspect gave her a mobile phone and she fell asleep playing with it.

“The suspect took advantage and sexually assaulted me. He told the victim not to share about it with her parents,” the statement stated.

As per her statement, she went to the suspect’s house again to guard the crops against the monkeys.  “The suspect gagged me and raped me again.”

The victim said that she didn’t share it with her parents as she was afraid. “I came to know that I was pregnant only when I got labour pain on May 25 around 11pm. The suspect is the father of my child,” the statement stated.

Meanwhile, police charged him for rape of a minor and incest because the suspect is the victim’s uncle.

Edited by Tshering Palden