Child rights’ body rescues 17-year-old girl in Chandigarh

The Class 12 Maloya girl had eloped with her classmate about a month back

Childline India Foundation, an NGO running under the Union ministry of women and child development, has rescued a 17-year-old Class 12 girl, read a press statement released by the child rights’ body on Monday.

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The girl was found near the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on Saturday.

Investigations revealed that the girl had eloped with a boy of her class and was “scared” of returning home, fearing that her parents would get to know that she got physically intimate with the boy. The child rights’ team found that the girl’s parents had lodged a missing report at Maloya police station about a month back.

ADMITTED TO QUARANTINE FACILITY

Director of the child helpline, Chandigarh, Ravi Bedi, said, “After medical examination of the girl, a case has been registered against the boy under Sections 376, 363 and 366 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Maloya police station. As the girl was in an unknown place for nearly a month, she has been admitted to a quarantine facility for 15 days.”

A hunt is on for the boy who is absconding.