Minor Girl Raped In Orphanage, Dies

HYDERABAD: A 14-year old orphan girl who was allegedly raped by a man in March, died while undergoing treatment at a government hospital in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

The girl was staying at an orphanage in Ameenpur on the outskirts of Hyderabad. She was raped by a man named Venugopal in the same orphanage in March just before the imposition of COVID-19 lockdown, said R Rajeshwar Rao, Patancheru deputy superintendent of police.  

Rao said that Venugopal is a donor of the orphanage. Venugopal used to visit the orphanage frequently and had allegedly assaulted the girl sexually several times, following which the girl developed health complications. The incident came to light after the girl was taken to a hospital for check up.

Police said that as a part of the investigation they found that the girl was admitted in the orphanage in 2015 by her uncle as both her parents had died in an accident.  

The girl's aunt who had taken her to hospital lodged a police complaint over the incident. Police booked a case against Venugopal under Sections 376(3), 342, 323, 328, 506 and 109 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 5(l) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act on July 31.

Police further said that as the girl has died, they are looking over the possibility of altering the sections to make it as a rape and murder case. Police had arrested Venugopal, and two others Vijaya (orphanage warder) and her brother Jayadeep last month and they were sent to judicial remand.

The girl's relatives initially admitted her in a juvenile home for girls and later she was shifted to Niloufer Hospital, Hyderabad. As her health condition was serious she was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit and was kept on ventilator support, where she died while undergoing treatment on Wednesday.

The police have handed over the body of the girl to the relatives after the autopsy.