Class 10 tribal girl student gives birth to baby girl in Odisha, probe launched

In a shocking incident, a minor tribal girl believed to be impregnated by her boyfriend, gave birth to a baby girl at her house in the Naktideula area in Odisha’s Sambalpur district. The girl is studying in Class 10, sources said.

While both the mother and the baby are safe and healthy, a probe has been launched into the impregnation of the minor girl. Preliminary sources revealed the girl was impregnated by a youth of the same village, supposedly her ‘boyfriend’.

The matter came to the fore after the minor girl and the baby were admitted to Naktideula Community Health Centre (CHC). Questions remain about how the girl's pregnancy went unnoticed by both her family and school authorities.

Even as the girl was pregnant, no school authorities complained about this connection. On the other hand, the parents of the minor girl were also silent over the matter. Swinging into action, the Sub-collector served a show-cause notice to the headmaster of the school where the minor was studying.

Also Read: Rape victim has right to terminate pregnancy: Allahabad HC

“The Asha and Anganwadi workers brought a newborn baby to the hospital. It turned out that the baby’s mother was a minor. We checked upon their health and both the minor mother and the baby are healthy. We have referred both of them to Burla-based VIMSAR for better treatment,” informed Dr. Amulya Ratna Mahanta.

“After coming to know about the matter, I immediately directed officials to launch a probe into the incident. I have also directed the CDPO to hospitalize the mother and the baby and take care of their well-being. Necessary steps will be taken after the preliminary probe,” informed sub-collector Rashmi Ranjan Mahanta.