Bhopal police have achieved a significant breakthrough in a 2023 case involving rape and pregnancy of a minor girl within Kohefiza police station area. The unidentified accused, who had been absconding for a long time, has been arrested from Sagar district and was revealed to be the victim’s step-brother. The accused has confessed to the crime during interrogation. On September 18, 2023, the victim’s mother lodged a complaint at Kohefiza police station stating that her 14-year-old minor daughter had been raped by an unknown person, leading to her pregnancy. The girl was admitted to Hamidia Hospital, where she subsequently gave birth to a child. Based on this complaint, the police registered a case under Crime Number 661/2023, Sections 376 IPC and 3/4 of the POCSO Act, and initiated an investigation. Considering gravity of the matter, Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone-3 Riyaz Iqbal, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Shalini Dixit, and Assistant Commissioner of Police Shahjahanabad Anil Vajpayee issued special directives.

 

A dedicated team, including female police officers, was formed under the leadership of Police Station In-charge Krishna Gopal Shukla. The biggest challenge in the investigation was the victim’s unstable mental state after childbirth. Despite repeated interrogations and counselling, no concrete information was obtained. The Deputy Commissioner of Police then directed a psychological approach to question the victim and family members separately. Through counselling conducted with the help of female police officers, the victim finally disclosed that her step-brother had forcibly raped her and threatened to kill her if she revealed it to anyone. Police corroborated the victim’s statement with family testimonies and evidence of step-brother’s presence in Bhopal at the time of the incident. Following this, the suspect was taken into custody from Sagar district. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime. Due to the pending nature of the case and the serious crime involving a minor, the Deputy Commissioner of Police had also announced a reward of Rs 5,000 for the accused’s arrest.