INDIA: Uncles convicted of 10-year-old’s rape

A fast-track court in India has convicted two men of raping a 10-year-old girl who gave birth to a baby girl in August. Both the men were the child’s uncles. The sentencing is set for Thursday. Her pregnancy was discovered in mid-July when she complained of a stomach ache and her parents took her to […]

A fast-track court in India has convicted two men of raping a 10-year-old girl who gave birth to a baby girl in August.

Both the men were the child’s uncles. The sentencing is set for Thursday.

Her pregnancy was discovered in mid-July when she complained of a stomach ache and her parents took her to hospital.

The second uncle was arrested after the baby’s DNA sample did not match that of his older brother, the first suspect.

The final arguments were completed by the defence on Monday. On Tuesday, the two men were declared guilty in court.

The harrowing case of the 10-year-old has made headlines for weeks, both in India and globally. She was 30 weeks pregnant when a local court in Chandigarh turned down her abortion plea on the grounds that her pregnancy was too advanced. 

A doctors’ panel had advised that a medical termination would be “too risky”. Later, the Supreme Court also refused to allow an abortion for her on similar grounds.