Navi Mumbai: 16-year-old girl found pregnant, case registered against parents, 'husband'

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The Navi Mumbai police in Maharashtra have registered a case against three persons, including the parents of a 16-year-old girl, from Bihar for allegedly "marrying" her off to a man, an official told news agency PTI on Wednesday.

The police have also pressed rape charges after the girl was found to be pregnant, reported PTI.

The official told PTI that the girl and her family hail from Sitamarhi district of Bihar. The teenager was married off to a 35-year-old a few months ago.

The crime came to light after the girl recently visited a friend in Navi Mumbai. After learning about her illegal marriage, the friend took her to the Nhava Sheva police, who sent the minor to a child rehabilitation centre, the official told PTI.

A health check-up at the facility revealed that the girl was four months pregnant. The police then registered a case under the Indian Penal Code for repeated rape, Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, reported PTI.

The girl's parents and her "husband" have been named in the first information report (FIR), the official told PTI, adding that the case has now been transferred to the Sitamarhi police in Bihar as the crime was committed there.

Meanwhile, police on Wednesday registered an offence against a group of persons for allegedly storming into a private consultant's office located at Uran in Maharashtra's Raigad district and setting furniture and other things on fire in a bid to scare people holding a meeting there, an official told PTI.

The incident occurred around 7.30 pm on Tuesday, he said.

A complaint had been filed saying that several persons were allegedly duped by a duo through their investment scheme. Based on the complaint, the police had registered a case against agents with one Hitesh Gavand named as the main accused, the police official told PTI.

"A meeting of a few persons, who fell prey to the investment scam, was in progress at the consultant's office on Tuesday to decide the further course of action like holding agitation and forming a committee comprising people from Uran and Panvel," the official of Uran police station under the jurisdiction of Navi Mumbai police commissionerate told PTI.

"When the meeting was on at the office and the victims were discussing the matter, some unidentified persons stormed into it and set the furniture, including sofa and chairs, on fire. They also threw a chit in which they warned those attending the meeting, before escaping from the spot," the official told PTI.

Nobody was injured in the incident, he said.

An offence was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc) and 506 (criminal intimidation) against Gavand and an unspecified number of persons based on the complaint by the consultant, the police told PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)