In a tragic incident, a 17-year-old girl died on her way to the hospital after giving birth to a child at her home.

The girl was allegedly raped and impregnated by a college-mate in Panvel in India, reports the Mid-Day.

The girl's family found out about the incident during the 20th week of her pregnancy, by which time abortion was not an option.

The family decided to keep the pregnancy away from the prying eyes of neighbours, calling her condition a stomach infection instead.

The police found the newborn child hidden inside a cupboard at her house. A report in the Times of India quotes a police officer as having stated, ‘The private hospital informed us about the incident on Sunday afternoon as it's a medico-legal case.

When we inquired with the girl's parents and her elder sister, they said she was impregnated by a college friend.’

The 17-year-old accused has absconded after learning about the victim's death. The TOI report alsoquotes a police officer as having added, ‘We are yet to verify claims of the girl's parents.

We suspect foul play as her family had kept the newborn's body hidden. The bodies of the girl and the newborn have been sent for post-mortem at Panvel government hospital. The post-mortem report will reveal the actual cause of her death.’

The police have registered an FIR against the accused minor under Sections 376, 506 and 314 of the Indian Penal Code for rape, criminal intimidation and for death caused by an act done with intent to cause miscarriage.