Minor girl dies of suspected acid ingestion in Delhi; police probe mother's contradictory statements
New Delhi (PTI): A 16-year-old girl died under suspicious circumstances in east Delhi's Geeta Colony area, prompting police to investigate allegations of sexual assault and forced acid ingestion, an official said on Sunday.
According to the police, the statements given by the girl’s mother are also contradictory and are being probed.
On July 3, the girl, a resident of Geeta Colony, was married to a 22-year-old man from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh in the presence of members of both families, they said.
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"The two families are distant relatives. On October 29, last year, a medico-legal case (MLC) was received at the Geeta Colony police station from Maulana Azad Hospital, Delhi, about the girl. The MLC mentioned acid ingestion and did not record any history of assault," a police officer said.
At the time, the girl and her mother had told doctors and police that she had consumed acid on her own after an argument with her husband, he said.
"However, on January 23, the girl's mother lodged a fresh complaint at Geeta Colony police station, alleging that her daughter had been sexually assaulted by her husband and was forced to consume acid on October 29," the officer added.
In view of the age of the girl at the time of marriage, police registered FIR on January 23, under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections 65 (rape) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Geeta Colony police station, officials said.
The victim later gave a contradictory version regarding the ingestion of acid during her statement before a magistrate. Based on her statement, appropriate sections of law were invoked, and the matter was probed from all angles, they added.
"In the alleged incident of acid ingestion, the girl was not admitted to any hospital for a prolonged period. Instead, she remained at her parental home. On February 7, her father took her to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) Hospital in an emergency condition, where doctors declared her dead," the police officer said.
He further said that an autopsy was conducted on Sunday at the hospital, but the surgeon conducting the post-mortem could not arrive at a definitive opinion regarding the cause of death, citing the considerable time gap and the long duration since the alleged acid ingestion.
Police said the final opinion will be given after receiving the results of histopathological examination and chemical analysis from the forensic laboratory. Further action as deemed fit will be taken after receipt of the expert reports, the officer said.
The case is being closely monitored, and all aspects, including the allegations of sexual assault, the circumstances of acid ingestion, medical history and statements of witnesses, are being examined, police said.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
