to whom the girl was ‘sold’ claimed to have married the victim and addressed her as his wife. However, the girl denied the marriage, said the police.

A teenage girl from Assam’s Dhubri district, who was allegedly sold to a man in Haryana’s Fatehabad, was rescued by the police last week, five months after she left home for a job promised to her by the alleged trafficker.

The girl’s mother, who travelled all the way to Fatehabad to look for her daughter, informed local police about the incident. In her complaint, the girl’s mother alleged that one Akram, a resident of Guwahati, took the girl away under the pretext of getting her a job in Haryana.

“Her mother tried to get in touch with Akram on the phone number he had given her before leaving Assam with the girl. She was then brought to Fatehabad by the accused himself,” said Bimla Devi, SHO, Sadar Fatehabad.

The accused Akram had sold the girl to a middle-aged man in Fatehabad, said police. “Akram and his partner Hawa Singh sold the girl for Rs 80, 000 to 35-year-old Bhagwan Das, a resident of Jhandwala village, to be his wife,” said the SHO. “When our team reached Das’s residence, he claimed to have married the victim and addressed her as his wife. However, the girl denied the marriage,” said Bimla Devi.

Police believe that the trio was planning to sell off the girl again.