A foetus, nestled among an empty packet of cigarettes, balloons and dust, was abandoned near a drain in Gujarat's Surat. Carrion-eating birds were hovering over it. A group of children threw stones to disperse the birds and raised an alarm when they realised that there's a body. The police were called in.
The foetus, a girl's, was rushed to the civil hospital but the doctors declared it dead.
The incident was reported from Surat's Apekshanagar on January 9.
The search led police to the doorstep of a 16-year-old girl.
"Initially, her mother and the person who aborted the foetus said no. The police persisted and the 16-year-old was taken for a medical examination at the New Civil Hospital where a doctor confirmed that she had been pregnant," said Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone 4 Vijay Singh Gurjar.
Upon investigation, said the police officer, it was revealed that the girl is 16-year-old and even attended school till January 3.
Upon further inquiry, the girl revealed that she met a 17-year-old boy on Instagram and they became friends.
"Both of them came in contact with each other through Instagram. The boy lived in a rented house in Pandesara, an industrial area in Surat, and they had physical relations due to which the girl became pregnant," said the police officer.
Upon learning that the girl is pregnant, the boy fled to his home in Uttar Pradesh and then to Mumbai, said the police.
"From Mumbai, the boy sent her a packet of tablets to end the pregnancy. She took two tablets and had a miscarriage at home. She threw the foetus away," said the police officer quoting the girl.
"We have taken their (boy and girl) DNA samples and an investigation is underway," the officer said.
The boy has been detained and will be produced before a Juvenile Justice Board, said the cop.
(With inputs from Mahendra Prasad)