A 27-year-old auto-rickshaw driver, responsible for transporting a 12-year-old student to school in Patiala, has been arrested for allegedly raping and impregnating the young girl, according to Patiala Police.Sub-inspector Sukhdev Singh revealed that the accused, identified as Shubham Kanojia, had allegedly been raping the girl for over seven months. Kanojia has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody, while the victim is receiving treatment at Government Rajindra Hospital. An FIR has been registered against Kanojia under sections 65 (2) and 68 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, as well as section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
"The victim is being treated at the hospital, and her health condition is said to be stable. We have also seized the auto-rickshaw of the accused. The accused took the victim to an abandoned site after dropping off all the other students," stated the SHO. The disturbing case came to light on March 29th when the girl was taken to a doctor for abdominal pain. Medical examinations revealed that she was five months pregnant." The girl then informed her parents about the alleged rape by the accused auto driver. Thereafter, the parents filed a written complaint with the police," authorities stated. According to the FIR, Kanojia would take the victim to an abandoned plot in the city after dropping off other students. The girl has told police that the assaults began in August of the previous year.