The Uttar Pradesh police have busted a human trafficking ring in Bulandshahr and rescued a minor girl who was allegedly being sold for marriage in Ahmedgarh area. Seven persons, including two women, have been arrested, police said.
According to the FIR, the 16-year-old, who hailed from a village near Ranchi in Jharkhand, was being sold by her step-aunt at Naurangabad village for ₹75,000. “The police team raided the house of Savitri after a tip-off. We found the girl locked in a room,” said Harendra Kumar, SP (Rural) Bulandshahr.
Suresh Kumar, CO, Shikarpur said the girl’s step-aunt Kalawati brought her to the village to sell her to a family looking for a bride. “People usually consider Haryana as the hub of such marriages but we do get such cases in western Uttar Pradesh as well. Here the sex ratio is poor as well and rural unemployment is widespread but gets covered because districts of eastern U.P. fare better,” he said.
The FIR said wedding material, such as sari and a vanity kit, was recovered from the spot. “Prima facie, Kalawati, from Ranchi, made use of the girl’s poor financial condition. The girl was allegedly sold by her stepmother,” said Mr. Kumar.
POCSO Act
Seven persons have been booked under Sections 363 (kidnapping), 366A (procuring a minor girl), 370 (trafficking), 342 (wrongful confinement), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and Sections 81, 84 and 87 of the POCSO Act 2015.
