Nurse arrested as probe widens into Jammu minor's alleged rape, death

A nurse at Kishtwar district hospital has been arrested in the case linked to the alleged rape of a 15-year-old tribal girl and her death after a pregnancy termination attempt. Her arrest takes the total to six and sharpens scrutiny of an alleged cover-up and medical complicity.

In Short

• A 15-year-old tribal girl was allegedly assaulted repeatedly for months
• The abuse led to pregnancy, and an attempted abortion preceded her death
• Police invoked POCSO, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and SC/ST atrocity provisions

A nurse at the district hospital in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar has been arrested in connection with the alleged rape of a 15-year-old tribal girl by a school teacher, taking the total number of people held in the case to six, officials said on Saturday. The girl had allegedly been sexually assaulted repeatedly over several months, which resulted in her pregnancy.

She died on August 20 after an alleged attempt to terminate the pregnancy in the Chatroo area.

Police said Sonika, a nurse at Kishtwar district hospital, was apprehended on Friday after an FIR was registered under relevant provisions of the POCSO Act, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

Her role came to light during the investigation by a special investigation team.

Officials said the government school teacher accused in the case and his brother were arrested earlier. According to the police spokesperson, the SIT found that the teacher, in conspiracy with his brother, administered medicines purportedly to terminate the girl's pregnancy.

Police said the accused first took the girl to a public health centre in Chatroo. She was later shifted to the district hospital in Kishtwar, allegedly in connivance with an accused sweeper working there.

The girl delivered a stillborn baby and later died, officials said.

The police spokesperson said Sonika's role in terminating the girl's pregnancy surfaced during the investigation, leading to her arrest. The spokesperson said the SIT was continuing a thorough, scientific, impartial and evidence-based investigation into the circumstances leading to the minor's death and the role of every person connected with the case.

Further arrests, wherever warranted by evidence, were being pursued, and strict legal action would be taken against all those found involved in accordance with the law.

On Thursday, one of the accused, a sanitation worker at Kishtwar district hospital, was removed from service for his alleged role in a conspiracy to conceal information about the crime.

With Sonika's arrest, six people have now been held in the case linked to the alleged sexual assault of the minor and the events that led to her death.

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