Admitting that it was a shocking case of insensitivity, Sub-divisional Magistrate (Dindori) Kameshwar Choube has said he would personally determine if the certificate was genuine, how it had been issued and take appropriate action.
Choube added that in the records of the primary school where the child studies, the ‘father’s name’ column has been kept blank. The extraordinary entry on his birth certificate came to light when the child was brought for admission to the school.
The panchayat that issued the birth certificate said they put the names of the three accused on it as the grandfather had told them one of them was the child’s father.
The mother was allegedly raped in Nigwani village, about 15 km from Dindori, in 2003. She kept the fact hidden from her family until she had reached an advanced stage of pregnancy.
The victim’s father named Malle Singh, a contractor, Omprakash and Basant Das as accused in an FIR filed with the Dindori police station. The contractor had employed the victim as a labourer.
Dindori SP Purushottam Sharma said the three were acquitted as the girl turned hostile during trial. The victim’s family is not keen on pursuing the case, saying they had suffered enough ignominy, he added.
Sharma admitted that they had the option of DNA tests to determine paternity, but doubted if the family would agree.
The victim is now 23. She was never married.