16-Year-Old Pregnant Girl Dies As Parents Try Delivery At Home
A 16-year-old girl died due to excessive bleeding during delivery at home in Assam’s Bongaigaon district as her family did not take her to hospital fearing arrest over child marriage charges.
The deceased woman’s husband, Sahinur Ali (25), and his father Ainal Haque (53) have been arrested under Pocso Act and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. The duo was sent to 14-day judicial custody by a local court late on Wednesday.
Doctors said the teenage girl from the Jogighopa area in Bongaigaon was brought dead to Bongaigaon Civil Hospital on February 5. The incident came to light following the arrest of the woman’s husband and father-in-law.
In the last one week, 2,763 arrests have been made in connection with child marriages. Many husbands of pregnant girls were also held.
The Bongaigaon district administration has instituted a magisterial inquiry into the incident.
“She was 16-year-old at the time of delivery. Though the girl was medically fit during subsequent pregnancy tests conducted on her and was under the monitoring of an ASHA worker, delivery at home resulted in her death. Unskilled people were involved during delivery. They did not inform the health department officials when she started experiencing labour pain,” joint director of health services (Bongaigaon) Dr Paresh Roy told TOI on Thursday.
He said complications arose during delivery but she gave birth to a healthy baby girl. “The baby is at her mother’s house and did not need hospitalisation.” Roy added.
Initial investigation by health department officials revealed that the girl was shifted to her parent’s home a few days ago to evade arrest as she was married off before she turned 18. “At such a critical time, her husband and family shifted the girl to her parent’s home without informing the village ASHA worker concerned,” Roy added.
“The father-in-law of the deceased has confessed before the investigating officer that the girl was sent to her home so that the baby could be delivered without being noticed,” a police officer said.
