ABDUCTED MINOR RESCUED BEFORE BEING ‘SOLD IN MARRIAGE’

A 15-year-old minor girl of East Singhbhum district, who was being taken to Rajasthan for allegedly being sold through marriage, was rescued after she was sent back on Thursday by human traffickers under police pressure, officials said on Friday.

Niranajn Kumar, sub-inspector in-charge of Patamda police station, said the minor’s statement was recorded under Section 164 of CrPc in a court of judicial magistrate on Friday.

“Her medical tests were also conducted Friday. She will also be presented before district child welfare committee. She was being forcibly married off in Jamshedpur. The minor said three other girls were also being held by the gang,” he said.

As per available information, the girl had gone missing from Bansgarh area under Patamda police station on January 22, following which her father had lodged a complaint with Patamda police on January 28. He had accused a local youth, identified as Kartik Singh, of abducting his daughter with the intention of marriage.

According to the minor, she was lured away to Rajasthan by a gang led by a woman on the pretext of a lucrative job.

“But after reaching Rajasthan, they started torturing me and tried to marry me off. They had started bidding to select prospective groom, paying the highest bid of money for me. On Wednesday, they suddenly cancelled the plan and sent me back to Jamshedpur by bus from Delhi,” the minor told the police.

Police said they traced the girl through mobile tower location and call records of accused Kartik, who didn’t go to Rajasthan and stayed back in the district.

“We are investigating the case and efforts are on to arrest the members of the gang,” said Niranjan.