Punjab: 12-yr-old abducted twice in a month, women panel seeks report

Victim’s family accuses the Phillaur police of not arresting the accused; Jalandhar (rural) SSP Harvinder Singh Virk says police teams are conducting raids at multiple locations to trace the girl

A 12-year-old girl was allegedly abducted from a village falling under the Phillaur sub-division of Jalandhar district, dropped home a day later and again abducted after a month to pressurise her family to withdraw the FIR that was lodged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), 2012.

According to victim’s family, she was first abducted on March 5 and then on April 5.

With the family accusing the police of not arresting the suspects, the Punjab State Women Commission on Tuesday directed the police to carry out a thorough investigation and submit a report following which a fresh FIR was registered against five persons.

According to information, the accused abducted the minor girl first on March 5 and dropped her home a day later. The family got an FIR registered against the accused, including the Sangowal village sarpanch, for abduction and under the POCSO Act at the Phillaur police station on March 6, but “no arrest was made”.

The family further alleged that the accused abducted the girl again on April 5. “We were called to Sangowal village where the accused made us meet our daughter but didn’t let her go. We were told that we will be allowed to take the girl back only after we withdraw the FIR that was registered on March 6,” the victim’s parents said.

The family recorded a video of the girl during their meeting and showed it to a Congress leader in Phillaur who shared the video on his social media platforms. The Punjab State Women Commission took a suo-moto cognisance of the video on Tuesday and directed the Jalandhar (rural) police to register a fresh FIR besides assigning the case to a senior police officer for a detailed investigation. The police have been asked to submit their report to the commission at the earliest.

In its order, the commission stated that “the accused also held a panchayat in the village and threatened the family that the victim would be handed over only after cancellation of the first FIR.”

The victim’s parents alleged that the accused were threatening them to strike a compromise. The accused have been identified as Babbu of Butte Diyan Channa village, Manna (sarpanch) of Sangowal village, Channa, Binder Singh and a woman named Faujan, all from Sangowal village.

Sections 351 (criminal intimidation), 137 (2) (kidnapping), 87 (inducing woman to compel her marriage) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita have been slapped in the fresh FIR.

Jalandhar rural senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harvinder Singh Virk said the rescue operation was on as police teams were conducting raids at multiple locations. “The victim will be traced soon,” Virk added.