Rajasthan: 13-year-old sold twice for marriage; five arrested
(Sourced from PTI)
A 13-year-old girl from Bihar was allegedly "sold" twice for marriage within 17 days, following which police has arrested five people on charges of human trafficking, including her mother. The arrested also include the two men who allegedly paid Rs. one lakh and Rs. 1.21 lakh, while three others are yet to be nabbed.
Vijay Swarnkar, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Baran district said, "The incident came to light after the girl was found abandoned on the roadside in Chipabarode Police station area in Baran city of Rajasthan last Tuesday and was produced before Child Welfare Committee (CWC)."
The victim in her statements to the CWC alleged that she was forcibly married to Banwari of the Chipabarode area for Rs. one lakh on December 7 last year. When she refused to live with him, her mother, maternal aunt, and uncle, and three others married her to Mukesh for Rs. 1.21 lakh on December 24. She, however, managed to escape from captivity.
The ASP said, "On the receipt of a report by the CWC the next day, the police lodged a case under various sections of the IPC against eight persons and initiated investigations." "The police on Monday arrested Banwari, Mukesh, two persons, identified as Geeta Singh and Trilok, and the victim's mother while the other accused are yet to be nabbed," he further informed.
The victim, during counseling with CWC members, revealed that she is a standard ninth student in Bihar and was in a relationship with a boy of her village. "This annoyed her mother who decided to get her married," CWC Chairperson Om Prakesh Mehta said. She has been ordered to be sent to a shelter home in Baran and the monetary transactions are being verified.
