Maharashtra / Woman watches online videos, performs self-abortion after being raped in Nagpur

A man was arrested in Maharashtra's Nagpur for allegedly raping a 24-year-old woman and forcing her to abort after she became pregnant. The matter came to light after the woman performed an abortion on herself at her home after taking instructions from online videos. The accused, who was having an affair with the survivor, reportedly buried the foetus.

Vikrant Shekhawat : Sep 26, 2021, 06:11 PM
Nagpur: Police in Maharashtra's Nagpur have arrested a man who is accused of sexually exploiting a 24-year-old woman and forcing her to abort when she became pregnant. The incident took place under the limits of Yashodhara Nagar police station in north Nagpur. The matter came to light when the rape survivor performed self-abortion at her home after watching videos on YouTube.

The accused, identified as Sohail Wahab Khan, and the woman have been in a relationship for around six years. In her statement, the woman told police that Khan had sexually exploited her repeatedly since 2016. According to a report by Times of India, when she became pregnant, Khan allegedly told her to watch videos on YouTube for self-abortion. She reportedly performed abortion by cutting the umbilical cord at home when her family was away.

The report said the fetus was buried by Khan in Taj Nagar burial ground. While the incident took place a few week ago, the woman's family approached the police this week. "The family of the victim felt that Khan had ditched her with false promises as he was already a family man with a child and did not have enough income," an officer was quoted as saying.

The cops came to know that Khan, a driver, is married twice earlier in the past. After divorcing his first wife, he had married for the second time a few years back and also had a son. Acting on the complaint, the police on September 23 registered a case of rape against Khan and took him into custody. Yesterday, a forensic team made an unsuccessful attempt to exhume the remains of the fetus.

"We were trying to exhume the remains of the fetus for DNA sampling but unfortunately it could not be traced. We are still trying to find the remains of the fetus," the officer said. The cops are conducting further investigation.