Delhi WCD Official Charged With Raping Friend's Minor Daughter, Wife 'Gave Medicine To Terminate Pregnancy'

A senior official in Delhi government's Women and Child Development department now faces a case of child abuse for allegedly raping his friend's 14-year-old daughter over several months.

The girl's statement has yet to be recorded in front of a magistrate, and an investigation is ongoing. (Image used for representational purposes only.)

Source : Getty

A senior official from Delhi's Women and Child Development department is facing charges for allegedly raping a friend's minor daughter multiple times and causing her pregnancy, as reported by the news agency PTI on Sunday (August 20). The accused, a deputy director in the WCD department, accommodated the girl and her family at his residence following her father's demise on October 1, 2020.

Between November 2020 and January 2021, the accused allegedly assaulted the minor on multiple occasions, stated a senior police officer. Additionally, his wife is accused of providing the girl with medication to terminate the pregnancy, the report said. 

In response to the allegations against the official, the Delhi government emphasized the importance of stringent action if he is proven guilty.

"He (the accused) is a deputy director in the WCD Department. Since an FIR has been lodged in the alleged matter, the law should take its course. The Delhi government is sensitive in regard to such serious matters of women's safety and child abuse. If he has committed any such reprehensible act, the sternest possible action should be taken against him," the government stated in a released statement.

According to the PTI report, the incident came to light when the girl, presently in Class 12, disclosed the events to a counsellor at a hospital where she sought treatment for an anxiety attack. The girl had been residing with the accused and his family since her father's passing, during which she claims to have been sexually assaulted repeatedly.

Upon discovering the girl's pregnancy, the accused's wife allegedly supplied her with pregnancy termination medication. The girl shared the entirety of the incident during a counselling session at St Stephen's Hospital in August after being admitted for an anxiety attack, the report said. 

When the police station in Burari was informed of this information, a case was filed against the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, according to the report. Charges include rape, modesty outrage, criminal intimidation, causing harm, miscarriage without consent, criminal conspiracy, and POCSO Act provisions, it added. 

The girl's statement has yet to be recorded in front of a magistrate, and an investigation is ongoing. According to the report, the survivor is currently in recovery and receiving care.