BHOJPUR, July 17: An 11-year-old rape victim from Yaku in Arun Municipality-5 of Bhojpur district has been banished from her village after become pregnant.

Shadana Shrestha (name changed), a seventh grader of Panchakanya Aadharbhut School, was compelled to leave the village after the rapist's family refused to accept a proposal for her marriage with the boy  on ground that she belonged to a 'low caste'.

Her neighbor, Durga Bahadur Shrestha, 20, had raped her about seven months ago on December 24, following which Shadana conceived a child. 

The victim's family said the family of the alleged rapist threatened them and forced her to leave the village. According to her father, they were forced to bid Sadhana farewell due to fear and repeated threats from the family of the accused.

At the moment, Shadana is living in Dharan and is in a miserable condition. She is six months pregnant, informed her father.

“When Shadana went through a check up at a local health post, her pregnancy was confirmed. Following this, the boy took her to Dharan,” said Nilam Ghale, the victim's aunt. According to her, the family pleaded for help from the local women's committee and Yaku police station to no avail. “They completely ignored our cry for help.”

According to the victim's father, Shadana calls home from different cell numbers from different places. “We still fear that the boy's family might do something wrong to our family.”
Pusha Lata Upreti, an official from the Women's Development Committee, said that she was informed of the incident and she called the victim's family to the District Coordination Committee. “However, the boy's family did not respond,” she said.