16-yr-old from Delhi, her infant rescued from Ludhiana
Police said this might be a case of elopement and they are probing it to ascertain if the girl was a victim of any human trafficking racket or she was forced into immoral activities
A 16-year-old girl, who went missing from her neighbourhood at Prem Nagar in northwest Delhi 15 months ago, has been rescued by the anti-human trafficking unit (AHTU) of the crime branch from Ludhiana in Punjab. The girl was living in a rented accommodation with her five-month-old son and a 25-year-old man, who has been arrested, police officers aware of the matter said on Monday.
This is the second time that the girl has been rescued. Earlier, she was rescued by the Delhi Police teams in November last year, they added.
Police said that investigation suggested that this might be a case of elopement and they are probing it further to ascertain if the girl was a victim of any human trafficking racket or she was forced into immoral activities.
A case of kidnapping was registered at the Prem Nagar police station, which comes under the territorial jurisdiction of Rohini police district, after the girl went missing for the second time in May last year, investigators added.
The first time when the girl was rescued last year, she was pregnant. As she was a minor, police added sections of rape to the case under the relevant sections of Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against the man. Both of them were taken to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial hospital for medical examination and from there they fled again, the officials said.
Since the girl and the man belonged to different communities, multiple teams were working on the case, as the police feared that the matter may escalate into communal tension in the neighbourhood where she lived with her family. The man used to live in a rented accommodation in the same locality. A cash reward of ₹20,000 was also announced for her safe rescue and arrest of the man, police said.
Sharing details of the AHTU’s operation, a crime branch officer said that a team member recently received information that the missing girl could be found in Ludhiana in Punjab. The team raided a house in Ludhiana where the girl was living with her five-month-old son and the man as tenants, and they were brought back to Delhi.
“After fleeing the hospital in November last year, they first went to Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, and lived there for a couple of months. Then they went to Ludhiana, where she delivered a baby boy five months ago,” added the crime branch officer requesting anonymity.
The AHTU team handed over the girl and the man to the Prem Nagar police for further investigation. The girl has been produced before the child welfare committee (CWC) that will decide the fate of the minor girl and her son, said a senior police officer aware of the case.
“CWC usually gives custody of rescued minor children to their parents. In case the girl refuses to go with her parents, the department may take a call based on the merits and seriousness of the case,” the senior police officer added.