DNA test on baby born to 10-year-old rape victim confirms second uncle impregnated her

A DNA test on a baby born to a 10-year-old rape victim in India's Chandigarh city revealed that the second uncle of the girl is the biological father of her child born in August, police said.

The 41-year-old rape accused is the younger brother of the man who was earlier arrested and charged with raping the minor girl multiple times about seven months ago.

The new development in the case came after police arrested the second uncle of the girl in September. An earlier forensic test on the baby had revealed that the newborn's DNA samples did not match with those of the first uncle who was initially arrested for raping the child.

The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for Tuesday (10 October). "It's true the DNA sample has matched that of the uncle," senior superintendent of police Neelambari Vijay told BBC's Arvind Chhabra. They would file charges against him in court, he added.

Both the men accused in the case reportedly took turns to rape the daughter of their cousin.

The minor was found to be over 30 weeks pregnant in mid-July when she was taken to a doctor by her parents after she complained of a stomach ache. Her parents pleaded for an abortion, which was denied by a local court citing the grave health risk it held for the mother.

The girl's family then moved the Supreme Court of India but she was again denied permission to abort. On 17 August, she delivered a premature baby and the baby was given away to child welfare authorities for adoption.

In her initial statement, the girl told police that she had been raped several times in the past by the first uncle. The fact that the child's second uncle had also been repeatedly raping her came to light only when the police began looking for more suspects after DNA test results revealed that the arrested uncle was not the baby's father.

The child later testified against the second man and told authorities that her "younger mama (maternal uncle)" also used to rape her.

The second accused, who is a cook by profession, had apparently tried to flee to his home country Nepal after the re-investigation into the case began. However, the police were able to arrest him before he fled. He has also reportedly confessed to the crime.