Trafficked W. Bengal minor rescued from Kashimira
A 14-year-old girl who had been allegedly lured to Mumbai from her native place in West Bengal was rescued from a construction site in Kashimira, in a joint operation by government agencies, social organizations and the police
While the girl has been sent to the rehabilitation center in Thane, the 28-yearold accused identified as Sudip is yet to be arrested as the West Bengal police have officially expressed their helplessness in reaching Mumbai to take custody of the accused owing to the ongoing pandemic lockdown. They are expected to reach here next week, police said.
Officials from the district Child Protection Wing and District Women and Child Development Department received information from members of Mission Mukti Foundation, a Delhi Based NGO led by Virendra Singh, about a girl who was lured from her home in Ulashi village of Nadia District in West Bengal on January 24 this year. Based on the complaint registered by the girl’s parents, the local police had registered a case of kidnap against an unidentified accused.
Acting on a tip-off provided by the members of Mission Mukti Foundation, a team from the Thane (rural) police launched a search operation and rescued the girl from a make-shift tenement located at a construction site in Kashimira with the help of ChildLine and Samta Foundation.
“We have officially informed our counterparts in the concerned police station of West Bengal. The accused will be arrested and taken away by them,” conformed a police officer. The girl was found to be staying with the accused and his parents, police said.
Apart from sections of the IPC, the suspected involvement of the accused in a child trafficking case will also attract punishment under the stringent sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).