A cloud now hangs over the alleged ‘father’ of the baby girl, born to a 10-year-old rape survivor in Chandigarh on 17 August. DNA samples of the baby and the accused uncle of the 10-year-old have not matched, reported Hindustan Times.
Thus, the question that looms over the case now is whether the survivor was raped by more than one man over several months.
The case is back to square one with the findings of the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL), reported HT.
Manjeet Singh, the lawyer of the accused, clarified on 12 September that his client’s DNA did not match that of the baby born to the 10-year-old. Singh, in his address to the media after the hearing in a court, said:
At this moment, I can only say that the DNA of the accused does not match that of the newborn.
The rape case came to light when the survivor was 30 weeks pregnant, and soon after, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Supreme Court requesting the termination of the pregnancy. The prime accused in the case is the rape survivor’s maternal uncle.
The Chandigarh administration law officer had written to the city Senior Superintendent of Police, Nilambari Vijay Jagdale, informing her about the twist to the tale.
Whatever test report has come is part of the investigation now. We will investigate from all angles. But, I cannot share anything else at this moment.SSP Nilambari Vijay Jagdale to HT
On 11 September, the forensic report was submitted to the trial court, and the matter was taken up by Additional District and Sessions Judge Poonam R Joshi on 12 September during which the prosecution witnesses came under scrutiny. The hearing however, was deferred, reported HT.
The alleged perpetrator was arrested on 14 July, after an FIR was registered by the survivor’s mother. The accused will not go scot-free for now, as the survivor had identified him in court.
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