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POCSO: Meghalaya minor rescued from Delhi a year after abduction; accused remanded
The accused, identified as Atowar Hussain alias Rahul, a resident of Meghalaya’s Rajabala, has been arrested and remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody.
A minor girl from Rajabala in Meghalaya’s West Garo Hills, who was abducted about a year ago, was rescued from the national capital in a joint operation by the West Garo Hills Police and the Delhi Police, officials said.
The accused, identified as Atowar Hussain alias Rahul, a resident of Meghalaya’s Rajabala, has been arrested and remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody.
According to West Garo Hills Superintendent of Police Abraham T Sangma, the rescue followed months of sustained investigation and coordination between multiple agencies.
“We had been trying to track the accused and the girl for the past year, but it was only recently that we received information about their whereabouts in Delhi,” Sangma said, adding, “We sought the help of the Delhi Police, and they helped us locate the girl. We sent a team on Friday, and on Saturday, we were able to bring them back to Tura.”
Police said the girl was brought back to Tura, the district headquarters, on October 26. The accused was initially booked for kidnapping, but sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act have now been added to the case.
“Initially, we registered a case of kidnapping against the accused, but after locating them we will be including sections of the POCSO Act,” the SP confirmed.
People aware of the development said the girl, who was pregnant at the time of her rescue, gave birth to a baby girl at Tura Civil Hospital on Sunday morning.
Investigations revealed that the accused had taken the victim to Delhi when she was still a minor. After nearly a year in captivity, the girl managed to contact her parents, pleading for help but unable to provide her exact location.
Her distressed parents reached out to the ACHIK pressure group, which immediately intervened and coordinated with the Tura Women Police. Acting on inputs, a joint team comprising members of ACHIK and the girl’s relatives travelled to Delhi on October 21. After days of searching, they traced the victim to Batla House in South Delhi and alerted the Meghalaya police.
On October 24, the Tura Women Police, with assistance from the Delhi Police and the Special Police Unit for the Northeastern Region (SPUNER), raided the location, rescuing the girl and arresting Hussain.
Legal experts say the case clearly falls under the POCSO Act.
“The accused will face charges of kidnapping and human trafficking. It is very unfortunate that the victim had to bear a child at such a young age. Once paternity is established, the accused will face a long prison term,” a senior POCSO prosecutor from Garo Hills said.
