Bhopal: An alleged minor rape survivor in a Madhya Pradesh district buried her week-old baby boy alive to save her marriage, an investigation by the police has revealed on Friday.
The infant, buried below ten inches in the ground close to her village in Barwani district was discovered by children who were playing in the area.
The children raised alarm after hearing cries of the baby, which attracted attention of the locals. They rushed to the spot and rescued the infant.
The toddler was in a bad state when he was brought out of the pit. He was covered with a layer of mud, the investigating officer told this newspaper.
“His face was covered with mud making him difficult to breath. He also suffered injuries on his face from insects in the ground after lying buried for about ten hours,” the police officer said.
Later, the police identified that the boy’s mother is a 16-year-old tribal girl — an alleged rape victim.
“She has recently been married to a local from a nearby village in the neighbouring state of Maharashtra. She was pregnant when she got married. Her parents wanted to conceal her pregnancy to save her marriage and brought her back home for delivery. Later, they buried the kid to get rid of him”, police said.
The man accused of raping her, a 17-year-old neighbour of hers, was arrested on Thursday.
“The infant is recoering in the hospital. We are going to register a case of attempt to murder against the mother,” police said.
