Raped, sold twice, held captive and just 17

Share this

DEHRADUN: At just 17, she has allegedly survived the horrors of multiple rapes, been sold twice and subjected to physical violence. One of the men who bought her, a 60-year-old, married her. She now claims her two-year-old son has been given away, and lives with someone else. On Monday, she approached the anti-human trafficking unit with her mother to register a complaint. In 2009, when she was a 12-year-old Class VI student, her maternal uncle took her with him from her village Bhawali, in Haldwani, claiming she would help his ailing wife with work in his house at Shyamket village. There, another maternal uncle allegedly gave her food and beverages laced with sedatives, then took her to the jungle nearby and raped her after she fell unconscious, SSP Nainital Vimmi Sachdeva said. The uncle then took the girl to Ghaziabad and sold her to his friend, a man identified as Mahesh Kumar. The man who bought her took her to Peenpur in UP, where he allegedly raped her for a few weeks before selling her to 60-year-old Ashok Gujjar from the same village for Rs 10,000. Gujjar employed her as a domestic help. In the meanwhile, Gujjar's acquaintance Jitender allegedly raped the minor several times. Villagers forced Gujjar to marry the girl in 2012. DL Verma, inspector, anti human trafficking unit, said, "In 2012, she said, she gave birth to a son, but was told that her child was stillborn. The baby, she says she got to know later, now lives with somebody else in the village and has no contact with her." According to Verma, the minor made two attempts to escape from the village, but was caught on both occasions. Gujjar gave the girl a monthly allowance since their marriage, police said. "She saved the money for nearly two years and recently, about 10 days ago, she escaped from the village with the help of an elderly villager. She reached Ghaziabad, from where she took a bus to Haldwani," Verma said, adding that "During her period of captivity, she alleged, she was often subjected to physical violence and on one occasion a hot iron rod was placed on her hand." A case has been lodged under Sec 370A (human trafficking), Sec 376 (rape), Sec 342 (wrongful confinement), Sec 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), Sec 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and sections of the SC/ST Act. Both the Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh police are probing the matter.