The minor girl was first spotted by a woman on May 1, writhing and crying out in labour pain as she lay unattended at the New Delhi railway station despite her full-term pregnancy.
Out of compassion, the woman got Rachna (name changed) admitted to Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital where she delivered a baby boy. But the infant died after 17 days owing to a low white blood cell count and a very low birth weight of 1.5 kg.
This was not the end of the ordeal for Rachna.
Uncertain future: The victim at a shelter for women in New Delhi
The routine medical tests conducted on the hapless girl during her delivery threw up the shocking fact that she was HIV positive. All through, she was incoherent as regards her antecedents and did not seem to comprehend the gravity of the twin blows fate had dealt her.
Today, Rachna squats in a corner at a local women's shelter. Her vacant stare into nothingness is a tell-tale sign of the agonising experiences she has undergone at the tender age of 13 or 14. Her case was reported to the Delhi Police by some social workers.
'During medical procedures, doctors learnt that she was HIV positive and her baby was also infected with the virus,' the police officer investigating the case revealed. 'After four to five days, Rachna was discharged from hospital.
The woman who got her admitted there refused to give her shelter. Rachna has so far been unable to divulge any details about herself. We are trying to trace her history and background.
At this stage, it is difficult to categorise the case as one of trafficking, rape or abandonment. She will first have to reveal something to the counsellors,' the officer said. Days before he died, Rachna's baby was referred to Lok Nayak Hospital.
No room at the inn: The minor went into labour at New Delhi Railway Station
The girl herself was admitted to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for HIV treatment.
The police sent her to the Delhi State AIDS Control Society's (DSACS) Child Survival India Sneh Sadan on May 7.
Unable to handle the girl in view of her unpredictable behaviour, Sneh Sadan wrote to Sudhinalay which is located at the Rangsala Complex in Kabir Basti. Sudhinalay is a night shelter for terminally mentally ill women.
'She (Rachna) has no place to go to. Since ours is a short-stay home, kindly accommodate her in your centre,' the letter sent by Child Survival India Sneh Sadan project director Sheela Mann stated. It is at Sudhinalay that Rachna is putting up now with mentally challenged women.
'She is confused. She narrates different stories every time when we ask her about herself.
This centre has no funding from the government. Doctors, journalists and volunteers are running it,' the chairperson of the shelter, Sree Rupa Mitra, told Mail Today.
'Three decades ago, this used to be an amphitheatre. There are 27 mentally ill women here, out of whom one (apart from Rachna) is HIV positive,' Mitra, who is also a member of the Delhi State AIDS Council of the Delhi government, added.
A first-of-its-kind scheme launched by the Delhi government offers a ray of hope for Rachna. Under this, poor people with HIV/AIDS undergoing antiretroviral treatment will be provided a lifelong assistance of `1,000 every month.
Orphans and abandoned children infected with the disease will be provided assistance to the tune of `2,050 each month and other minors suffering from it will get Rs 1,750 every month till they are 18 years old. After this, they could get Rs 1,000 every month if found eligible. But what matters more to Rachna now is a roof over her head.
At a time when there are no proper shelter homes for HIV positive women in the National Capital, Sudhinalay has come to her rescue. Mitra, a staunch crusader for women's issues, has resolved to take care of Rachna. 'I have fought for this shelter for years.
'We have given the women here a good life; many critically ill and violent mental patients have recovered. But there is a dire need for longstay centres for abandoned HIV positive women in the Capital,' Mitra said.
'As regards Rachna, we are getting her treated at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS).
'She has no major mental illness. We hope her family can be found with the help of the police,' she remarked on an optimistic note.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2170603/Uncertain-future-Pregnant-13-year-old-girl-HIV-miscarried-baby-go.html#ixzz20F48xjhm
