Missing teen returns 3-week pregnant

NEW DELHI: A 13-year-old left her home in south east Delhi on May 6 to buy some ice cream, but never returned home.

For two months, relentless search by her father yielded no result, until one of her abductors surrendered at a city court last week.

The girl, a Class 8 student, had been raped allegedly during captivity and is now three weeks pregnant. At present, she is under the care of an NGO.

The girl’s father told HT that his daughter was kidnapped by a group of 12-15 men living near his home. “They worked as chefs in different restaurants. All of them fled when the police started investigating,” he said.

The girl’s disappearance had sent her father on a frantic search. He would reportedly use his car to drive the investigators to possible hideouts of the suspects. When nothing seemed to be helping, the distraught father approached the court. “The high court ordered that my daughter be found as soon as possible,” he said, adding that the court order forced police to launch a fresh search, thus helping in bringing his daughter back.

On July 10, one of the suspects surrendered at the Saket court. He had brought the girl along. After medical examination, the girl was found to be three weeks pregnant. The accused was arrested and interrogated, leading to the arrest of two of his accomplices who had allegedly helped him kidnap the girl.

A case of rape has been registered by the Delhi police.

The father has, meanwhile, claimed that he spent around Rs 45,000 accompanying Delhi police teams tasked to trace his daughter. “The police made me pay for the expenses incurred during the search operations. I paid the money as I was desperate to find my daughter,” he said.

Romil Baniya, DCP (southeast), did not comment on the rape allegations despite repeated requests, but said that he has ordered an inquiry into the father’s allegations about being forced to spend from his pocket during the raids. “The complainant will be called to record his grievances,” the DCP said.

THE 13YEAROLD WAS ALLEGEDLY KIDNAPPED BY A GROUP OF 15 MEN WHO WORKED AS CHEFS AND RAPED HER WHILE HOLDING HER CAPTIVE FOR OVER TWO MONTHS