A 40-year-old man from Thanjavur was taken into custody after being accused of raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl at a village near Thiruvaiyaru on Thursday.

The accused, Gowthaman, had apparently lured the minor girl with words to his banana grove and raped her over there. The girl used to accompany her friend, who happens to be Gowthaman’s daughter, to the banana grove. It was here that Gowthaman’s wife had caught her husband red-handed, but did not open up about it.

The girl was later admitted to the Thanjavur Medical College due to an illness, where it was discovered that she was pregnant for four months. The girl initially accused another guy of impregnating her, but it was later found by the police that she was forced to do so, after interrogation of the 25-year-old guy. Further investigation revealed that Gowthaman was the one behind the mishap.

The accused has now been remanded in judicial custody after he was produced in court.