Patna: Around a dozen teenaged rape victims in Bihar are caught in a dilemma: whether to attend the classes in their schools or take care of unborn children. But one thing they have in common is that they have all refused abortions, as they want to fight for justice till the end.

One rape victim who gave birth to her child at a government hospital in Katihar district on Wednesday withstood opposition from local villagers. The teenaged victim, who hails from Morsanda village under Falka police station, had been allegedly raped by a local youth identified as Rahul Kumar. The accused asked her to keep silent threatening her with dire consequences, but she reported the matter to the police and even got her statement recorded in the court.

“I decided to give birth to my ‘unwanted’ child as a protest. I will fight for justice till the end,” the victim told the local media on Thursday.

Another rape victim too has stopped going to school as she is now seven months pregnant, unable to move properly. The victim, a resident of Paiktola village under Kochadhaman police station in Kishanganj district, had been allegedly gang-raped by four brothers and finally when she brought the matter to the notice of the local village court, the latter had asked the victim to take Rs50,000 and abort but she refused. She too has announced she will deliver her baby as a protest to her rape. The victim is enrolled in class ten.

Another rape victim, from Paharpur village under Amdabad police station in Katihar district, is now finding it difficult to attend school due to her advanced stage of pregnancy. The girl. who studies in a private school. was raped by a kin of the school principal and when she reported the matter to school administration, the latter expelled her from school. The victim has now registered a complaint with the district police.

Yet another, who studies class eight, was raped by her boyfriend Mangal Mandal, but when she became pregnant, the accused refused to marry her.

And a rape victim from Muzaffarpur district in Bihar who has refused to abort despite the local court order asking the accused’s family to give her Rs200,000 for abortion.

With such rape cases earning a reputation for the state, Bihar chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has announced a fast-track court to hear such cases. Manjhi has said his government was serious about incidents of rape.

“These are unfortunate incidents. We want the culprits to be severely punished as early as possible,” the chief minister was quoted as saying in the local media.

The Bihar State Human Rights Commission (BSHRC) has voiced grave concern over rape and asked the state government to frame a policy to deal with rape victims.

“Rape is not like any other injury, but it causes trauma. A policy should be framed to deal with such victims so that they do not lose hope of life and are rehabilitated emotionally, physically and financially wherever necessary,” BSHRC chairperson Justice Bilal Nazki said in its order last week, listing the matter for hearing in March.

The incidents of rape have assumed alarming proportions in Bihar. According to an official report, altogether 1,128 cases of rape have been reported to August this year, indicting an average 141 incidents are taking place every month in the state. Last year, 927 incidents of rape had been reported from across the state.