Cleric arrested for repeatedly raping & impregnanting 14yo girl

Meerut: A 65-year-old cleric has been arrested in Hapur for allegedly raping his 14-year-old neighbour over several months and impregnating her, police said on Friday. The accused raped the girl when she was alone at home and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the abuse to anyone, police added.She told her family only after learning she was pregnant. Her father, a labourer, confronted the cleric, who allegedly threatened to kill him if he approached the police. Fear, shame and social pressure kept the family from reporting the matter, said police. On Feb 14, the girl developed severe abdominal pain and was taken to a private hospital, where doctors told the family she was seven months pregnant. She delivered a baby girl at home later that night.On Feb 17, her father filed a complaint, following which an FIR was registered under BNS Sections 65(1) (rape) and 351(3) (criminal intimidation), along with provisions of the Pocso Act. The accused was arrested the next day and remanded to judicial custody on Friday."Police have recorded statements of the survivor and her family. Further legal and scientific evidence is being collected, and the accused remains in jail as the investigation continues," said the SHO of the police station concerned.