In another shocking incident that has come to the fore in Kerala, police have found that a minor Dalit girl from Murukumpuzha in Thiruvananthapuram who killed herself in February was raped and impregnated. The crime on the teenager was allegedly committed by her relative.

The Mangalapuram police on Tuesday arrested the girl's relative, Rajesh. The 30-year old has three children and was the uncle of the teenager. The 16-year-old took the extreme step on February 23, and hanged herself from the ceiling of her house using a shawl. 

The post mortem report, received by the police a few days ago revealed that the girl had been raped. In the probe that followed, her parents revealed to the police that they had taken her to SAT hospital in the capital during the last week of January for an abortion. “The girl’s mother, the accused and another relative were with the girl when they took her to the hospital. They lied that the girl was 19 years old and was married. The accused was introduced as her husband. By the time she was taken to the hospital the pregnancy was partially aborted due to bleeding. This made the hospital perform the abortion," Mangalapuram Sub Inspector Jayan B told TNM.

The accused, a daily wage worker, told the police he had raped the girl once. According to the initial probe, the parents tried to cover up the incident. The mother had earlier said that the girl had been in a relation with a man named Aneesh. But investigating officers found that claim was wrong. “Since the post-mortem report said that the girl was raped it was no more possible for the mother to cover up. Letting the world know about the sexual abuse that might have prompted her to lie. The parents may also have been under pressure from the rest of the family," the SI added.

The girl did not resume studies after completing tenth standard. She was learning tailoring at a centre near her home. It was from this centre that the police got a tip off about the accused. The parents of the girl are daily wage labourers.