Dhar: A 17-year-old student gave birth to a premature baby boy in a school washroom during a class 10 examination in Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district, officials said on Friday.
The incident took place on Tuesday at a private school in Pithampur during a maths paper. Since then, police have launched an investigation under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) to investigate the alleged case of sexual assault.
Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Parul Belapurkar said that two hours after the examination, the teenager complained of severe stomach pain and sought permission to visit the toilet.
When she did not return to class for a long time, guards checked the washroom and were horrified to hear the child crying, the official said.
The school staff members rushed to the spot and the girl and the infant was brought to the Government Community Health Center in Ambulance 108, Community Physician Dr Prashant Kajave.
Both the teen and the child were found to be stable, he said.
Preliminary examination revealed that the girl was 34 weeks pregnant (eight months) and the baby was premature, he said.
The ASP informed that a case has been registered under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) and handed over to Betma Police Station.
In her statement to the Betma police, the teenager claimed that while participating in a dance program, she met a boy who sexually assaulted her, which led to her pregnancy.
She also claimed that the boy had threatened her to remain silent, which is why she did not inform her parents about the assault, the official said, adding that an investigation was underway.
