Indian police have made seven arrests at a hospital in western Maharashtra after a rape survivor aged 13 said she was forced to have an abortion.
Officers investigating the case found the remains of a dozen foetuses in a biogas plant on the premises.
“We have arrested seven people including a doctor, two nurses and staff for illegally carrying out the abortion. The doctor failed to inform us about the victim when she had come for the abortion,” Insp Bhanudas Pidurkar told The National.
“We also recovered skulls and bones of foetuses from the biogas plant and sent them for a post mortem and forensic analysis. An investigation is on to ascertain if these were aborted legally,” Mr Pidurkar said.
Indian law mandates hospitals to inform authorities of pregnancies in minors and those thought to have resulted from rape.
The girl told officers she became pregnant when she was raped by a boy aged 17, and that his family had forced her to have an abortion.
Her mother said the director of the clinic, a doctor, performed the termination in secret early this month, when her daughter was five months pregnant.
The doctor was arrested on Wednesday. Hospital staff told police they had dumped the medical waste in a pit, where officers found the remains of at least 12 foetuses.
Last year, the gestational limit for terminations was increased from 20 to 24 weeks in some cases, including pregnancies in minors or those resulting from incest or rape.
Abortion on the basis of sex is illegal in India, but continues in practice, overwhelmingly when the foetus is female.
In 2018, a homeopath from Sangli, Maharashtra, was arrested after 19 aborted foetuses were recovered from a road near his practice.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
PRESIDENTS CUP
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:
02.32am (Thursday): Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas
02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
03.02am (Thursday): Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau
03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Scorline
Iraq 1-0 UAE
Iraq Hussein 28’
Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
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Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
