A 12-year-old girl was allegedly sold by her mother for Rs 16,000 and 10 saris in Uttar Pradesh’s Chandauli and later subjected to repeated sexual assault by a 40-year-old man, police said. She was later abused again by an auto driver in Varanasi after being abandoned near a railway station.
According to Sarnath police, the girl was found crying and wandering on May 21 after locals alerted authorities. She was rescued and produced before the Child Welfare Committee, where her statement revealed a series of trafficking, sexual assault and abandonment incidents involving multiple accused.
ACP Sarnath Vidush Saxena said the girl stated that her mother, a resident of Bihar, allegedly sold her in January to Lahru Yadav alias Rakesh of Chandauli. Police said Yadav paid Rs 16,000 in cash and gave 10 saris to the mother before taking the child.
Investigators added that Yadav, a widower living separately after the death of his first wife, allegedly conducted a fake marriage ceremony with the minor at a temple in Chahania area of Chandauli. He then allegedly raped her repeatedly and forced her to work as domestic help.
During investigation, police found that Yadav reportedly spent around Rs 90,000 on a hair transplant in Delhi to appear younger before the alleged sham marriage. Villagers had also warned him that keeping a minor as a wife could lead to legal trouble.
Police said Yadav later abandoned the girl near Banaras railway station at Manduadih on May 19.
An auto driver identified as Ravi Verma of Jharkhand allegedly approached her there, promised to help reunite her with her mother, and later raped her near a pond in Sarnath.
Fearing arrest, Verma allegedly abandoned the girl on May 21 and fled. She was later rescued by police.
On May 22, Sarnath police registered a named FIR against the mother, Yadav and Verma under Sections 64(2m), 65(1), 143(4), 144(1) and 115(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant provisions of the POCSO Act.
Sarnath inspector Pankaj Kumar Tripathi said all three accused have been arrested from different locations.
(With TOI inputs)
