Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 3 Aug: Dehradun Police have uncovered a shocking case in which a woman, who had lodged a complaint alleging that her 15-year-old daughter had been kidnapped, has now been herself accused of selling the minor due to financial hardship and for attempting to mislead the police by fabricating the kidnapping story.
The police have rescued the minor girl safely from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh and have arrested four accused, including the girl’s mother, in connection with the case.
The police said the woman, a resident of the Rajpur police station area, had lodged a complaint on 5 July alleging that her daughter had been abducted. Acting on the complaint, the police registered a case against unknown persons and constituted a special team to trace the girl.
The investigating team carried out an extensive probe using mobile surveillance, CCTV footage and manual policing. During the investigation, the police traced the minor to Muzaffarnagar and conducted raids, leading to the arrest of Manish and Lavi Kumar. The girl has been recovered safely from their possession.
During interrogation, Lavi Kumar allegedly disclosed that he had purchased the minor from her mother for Rs 1.5 lakhs through Pinki Malik. He further told the police that he later sold the girl to Manish for Rs 2 lakhs with the intention of arranging her marriage.
Following this disclosure, the police arrested Pinki Malik from Muzaffarnagar and the girl’s mother from Dehradun. During questioning, the mother allegedly confessed that she had met Pinki Malik at a social function and, owing to severe financial difficulties, had agreed to sell her 15-year-old daughter for Rs 1.5 lakhs. She reportedly received only Rs 80,000 initially, while the remaining amount was to be paid later. When the balance payment was not made and she feared that the crime would come to light, she allegedly lodged a false kidnapping complaint with the police in an attempt to divert suspicion.
Rajpur SHO PD Bhatt shared with the media that following the investigation, the police had added Sections 64, 65(1), 87, 143 and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Sections 5(L)/6 and 16/17 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, to the case. The arrested accused have been identified as Manish, a resident of Jansath in Muzaffarnagar; Lavi Kumar, a resident of Phalawda in Meerut; Pinki Malik, a resident of Nai Mandi in Muzaffarnagar; and the victim’s mother, a resident of Dehradun.
The police are now investigating whether the accused had been involved in similar cases of trafficking or the buying and selling of minors in the past. They are also probing the wider network and the possible involvement of other persons connected with the alleged racket.
