A 50-year-old man has been arrested in south Mumbai for the r@pe of his own 20-year-old disabled daughter.
He was exposed as the suspect after DNA testing of 17 different men proved he fathered the child she is carrying.
The victim, who is both hearing and speech impaired, could not speak up to reveal who was responsible for r@ping and impregnating her.
The investigation, led by the Cuffe Parade police in Mumbai, India, began in September 2025 after the young woman complained to her grandmother of severe stomach discomfort. Using hand gestures, she described a sensation akin to “insects crawling” or “worms moving” inside her, according to police accounts.
She was subsequently admitted to Cama & Albless Hospital, where a medical examination revealed a five-month pregnancy.
Hospital authorities immediately alerted the police. Initial progress was slow, however, as officers faced profound communication barriers. The survivor was initially unable and unwilling to give a formal statement.
Her father, when questioned, dismissed any suggestion of s£xual abuse and could offer no explanation for his daughter’s pregnancy. He refused to file a complaint.
The breakthrough came with the assistance of counsellors from the NGO Vidhayak Bharti, Lila Patade and Madhura Kodlekar. Over five days, they conducted therapy-based sessions using drawings and finger-doll communication techniques to help the survivor articulate her experience. This painstaking process enabled her to file a complaint and identify her assailants. During these sessions, she repeatedly indicated the names of certain individuals.
Based on her account, police swiftly arrested a 34-year-old married man and took a 17-year-old boy into custody. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered on September 22, 2025 under stringent sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including r@pe of a woman incapable of giving consent and s£xual assault on a disabled person, alongside provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. The offences were alleged to have occurred between March 21 and September 21, 2025.
To establish the paternity of the foetus, investigators undertook a systematic genetic screening. Blood samples from 17 suspects, including the woman’s father, were collected and sent for forensic analysis alongside the foetal sample.
The conclusive forensic report, received on January 27, 2026, delivered a shocking result: only one DNA profile matched — that of the survivor’s father.
Following this evidence, police summoned the 50-year-old for questioning, established his involvement and placed him under formal arrest.
A senior police official stated that the offence is categorised as heinous and punishable with more than ten years’ imprisonment, making the arrest imperative to prevent any possibility of him absconding.
