Delhi: Woman held for kidnapping girl in 2020, helping 2 men rape her for 4 months

A 23-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday for kidnapping and sexually trafficking a 15-year-old girl in 2020 and helping two men sexually assault her over four months, police said

A 23-year-old woman was arrested on Saturday for kidnapping and sexually trafficking a 15-year-old girl in 2020 and helping two men sexually assault her over four months, police said. The accused held the victim captive for four months, drugged and tortured her, and took money from two men so they could rape the victim, police said. The accused set the minor free in 2020 fearing that the police would catch her.

The victim was held captive for four months, drugged, tortured, and raped before being set free by the accused in 2020. (Representational image)

Police on Sunday said this is the first arrest in the kidnapping-rape case. The case dates to October 2019 when the 15-year-old girl was reported missing. A case of kidnapping was lodged in Kanjhawala. Police said that the girl’s parents had gone to their hometown and the minor had stayed back with her other siblings when she disappeared.

Police said that multiple searches were made but the minor could not be found. In February 2020, months after the minor went missing, she was found in Bawana, Delhi. Police said that the accused had feared being caught by police and released her.

The girl told the magistrate that a woman had lured her to Surat, Gujarat with a job opportunity, said deputy commissioner of police (crime) Satish Kumar. “The minor was held captive, administered intoxicating substances, and subjected to repeated sexual assault by two men under the woman’s instructions. The victim was illegally confined in Surat for four months,” he said.

Based on the minor’s statement, a case of gangrape and Pocso Act was registered.

“The accused was termed a proclaimed offender by the court in 2021. Last week we received confidential information regarding her whereabouts. Using technical surveillance and manual intelligence, we learnt that the woman is near her hometown Ludhiana,” said a senior police officer.

A team led by ACP Narender Beniwal conducted raids and caught the woman on Saturday near Janta Nagar. Police said that the accused and the victim lived in the same village in Punjab. The accused’s parents got her married but she later separated from her husband, said police.