Sikkim: Man arrested for alleged involvement in minor's pregnancy in Jorethang

At approximately 9 PM on May 3, a police radiogram was received from the Station House Officer (SHO) of Melli Police Station. The message reported a case of a minor girl,  aged 13, who had arrived at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) in Melli with a complaint of amenorrhea.

Upon examination, a urine pregnancy test (UPT) was conducted, and the result was positive. The minor girl was accompanied by a resident of Manpur, South Sikkim. It was reported that the minor victim had been living with the accussed for the past one and a half years.

The minor victim was subsequently examined at Jorethang Police Station. However, the sequence of events leading to her pregnancy could not be clearly established to file an FIR. The child was mentally fatigued due to the late hour, and she was referred to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Namchi for counseling and further examination.

A written report was later received from Kalden Zangmo Bhutia, Chairperson of CWC Namchi District, along with other members. During their interaction, the minor girl disclosed that she was living in a relationship with the accussed person whom she referred to as her husband. She had been residing at Manpur, Kitam near a beer factory with him since April 2023.

The victim had visited Melli PHC on May 3, 2024, where it was confirmed that she is three months pregnant. The place of occurrence was identified as Manpur Kitam. Accordingly, a case was registered based on the above information.

During the course of the investigation, the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) in Namchi was intimated about the case, and the minor child has been admitted to a shelter home in Namchi under CWC, Namchi. The accused has been arrested, and the case is currently under investigation.

The case was registered at Jorethang Police Station. Further updates will follow as the investigation progresses.