PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE /Dehradun
Dehradun police rescued a 15-year-old girl from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh who had allegedly been sold by his mother for Rs 1.5 lakh. Police also arrested four individuals, including the girl’s mother in the case on Monday. Police said that the girl’s mother had lodged a false kidnapping complaint at Rajpur police station as she did not receive the full payment.
Sharing details, the senior superintendent of police, Dehradun, Pramendra Dobal said that the girl’s mother, Neelam Devi, a resident of Sahastradhara Road, had filed a complaint at Rajpur police station on July 5, claiming that her minor daughter had been kidnapped. “A special police team was formed and, with the help of CCTV footage and field investigation, it traced the girl to Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh,” he said, adding that Uttarakhand police had been assisted by Uttar Pradesh police in rescuing the minor girl.
Among the quartet arrested were Manish and Lavi Kumar hailing from Muzaffarnagar. “During questioning, Kumar revealed that he had bought the girl through one named Pinky Malik, who had allegedly purchased her from the girl’s mother for Rs 1.5 lakh,” Dobal said. “Kumar later sold the girl to Manish for Rs two lakh for marriage,” SSP added.
Based on the information, police arrested Malik from Muzaffarnagar and Devi from Dehradun. “During interrogation, Devi admitted that she had agreed to sell her 15-year-old daughter because of the financial problems she was facing. She received Rs 80,000 as advance, but when the remaining money was not paid, she became afraid of being caught and filed a false kidnapping case to mislead the police,” a senior police officer, privy to the details, informed.
Rajpur police have registered the case under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Police said that further investigation is underway to find out whether the accused were involved in similar offences in the past or if more people are linked to the case.
