Rape of a 14-year-old girl from Parashuram Municipality in Dadeldhura district came to light only after the victim gave birth to a baby girl two weeks ago.

The girl was allegedly raped repeatedly and impregnated by a 58-year-old man, the victim’s distant relative. Preliminary investigation shows that the suspect first raped her on June 22 last year and repeated the crime several times.

According to Inspector Upendra Bahadur Bam, information officer at the District Police Office in Dadeldhura, the victim told the investigation officers that she could not disclose the incident as the perpetrator threatened to kill her if she spoke out.

“The girl gave birth to a baby 10 days ago. We detained the accused eight days ago. Investigation is underway after the district court remanded him into custody,” said Bam. According to him, the girl was taken to Attariya in neighbouring Kailali district after she complained of stomach ache on February 27.

The victim is from an impoverished family. Her father, who is over 70 years old, and her mother, who is hearing impaired, were unaware of their daughter's pregnancy. The daughter maintained her routine of attending school and assisting with household chores during holidays, leaving the family oblivious to the pregnancy resulting from the sexual assault.

According to family sources, 11 days prior, the girl began complaining of abdominal pain. Despite her father's administration of deworming medicine, her condition did not improve. As the pain and discomfort escalated, she was taken to a private hospital in Attariya, approximately a two-hour journey from their home.

"The victim is my uncle's daughter. We reside in Attariya. She was brought to the hospital due to abdominal pain. None of us imagined she was pregnant It was only she gave birth to a baby girl that we found that she had been raped by a relative,” said the victim’s cousin brother.

According to the family, a 58-year-old perpetrator, who had a grandfatherly relation with the girl, took advantage of times when she was alone at home. He not only raped her but also silenced her with threats of violence. After giving birth, the girl identified the 58-year-old man from her hospital bed, prompting family members to locate and bring him from Dadeldhura to the hospital.

Aware of the financial struggles of the victim's family, the man reportedly attempted to cover up the crime by offering money. “But we refused. Our suffering has only deepened," said the girl's cousin. He said the man had a good relationship with the girl’s father and frequently visited their home as he was involved in buying and selling goats. "Since our family also raised goats, we had close ties. My sister is shy and easily scared. We never imagined something like this could happen," he lamented.

After giving birth in Attariya, the girl was kept for two days at Dadeldhura District Hospital and two days in a safe house before being handed over to her family. Fearing social stigma, the family could not bring the girl back home and hid her in a relative's house in Budar of Doti district.

Through coordination with Parshuram Municipality, the Dhangadhi-based Drishti Foundation rescued the girl and brought her to Dhangadhi. "They (the family members) hid me in a relative's house in Budar and wouldn’t let me go outside. I wasn't given proper food and my family members also started getting angry with me,” said the victim.

Kalpana Bhatt, founder of the foundation, said that the girl was rescued from a difficult situation. "She was bleeding and weak when she arrived at the foundation. Neither the mother nor the baby had warm clothes. We are currently providing them care," she added.

Local government officials were unaware of the case until much later. Bharat Badayar Joshi, mayor of Parshuram Municipality, said he only learned about the girl's pregnancy and childbirth recently. "Upon learning about the incident, we coordinated with the Drishti Foundation and sent her to Dhangadhi. We are ready to provide necessary support to the victim," Joshi said.

A similar incident surfaced last month in Achham district. An impoverished family from Chaurpati Rural Municipality living in India is in dire straits after their 12-year-old daughter was allegedly raped and impregnated by a distant relative.

The couple had been working in Surat in the Indian state of Gujarat. The victim’s father was employed as a watchman while her mother worked as a domestic help for a long time. The perpetrator has been identified as a 46-year-old man, a distant relative who lived in the next room of the same house. The perpetrator, a permanent resident of Chaurpati Rural Municipality, allegedly threatened her to remain silent and committed the crime. The girl is now 30 weeks pregnant and has no alternative to give birth as the law prohibits abortion beyond 25 weeks.