Teenager Gets Pregnant Twice Before Marriage, Children Sold Off; Parents Booked Under POCSO Act

New Delhi: A 17-year-old girl from Maharashtra’s Palghar district married a 23-year-old man from another religion, got pregnant and gave birth to an infant. According to a report in Times of India, the girl filed a police complaint alleging that she was impregnated twice by two different men and that her parents, along with a school principal, two women doctors, a social worker, a lawyer and several others conspired to sell one of her newborns.

At least 16 people, including the teenager’s parents, have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Juvenile Justice Act for rape and selling a child. The report quoted the teenager telling the police that after her sexual relationship with the 23-year-old man in 2021, her parents discovered her pregnancy during the second trimester. They sought assistance from the school principal and social worker.

The report further stated that six months after the delivery, she managed to contact the child’s father, who claimed to have paid Rs 4 lakh to the social worker. He wanted to marry her but was warned by the mediators to stay away.

According to the publication, the teenager alleged that her parents and an uncle received Rs 1.5 lakh each, while the social worker and some other people shared the remaining Rs 1 lakh. When she confronted her parents, they sent her to her grandmother’s place, where her family arranged a marriage with a 23-year-old man. The couple engaged in a sexual relationship, resulting in another pregnancy. The man, however, learnt about the teen’s first pregnancy and child. He then refused to marry her.