14-day jail for teacher, new arrest

The police have traced the girl who alleged on television that Uma Khurana had pushed her into prostitution, reports Abhishek Bhalla.

In a breakthrough, the police have traced the girl who alleged on television that former Delhi government schoolteacher Uma Khurana had pushed her into prostitution. The police say the girl is neither a prostitute nor a school student. They have recorded her statement and let her off.

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Earlier, Khurana, who was a teacher in the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in the Darya Ganj area of central Delhi, was remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. Unwilling to let her go while the investigations are on, a senior police officer said, “If needed we can ask the court for her police remand again and interrogate her. But at the moment we have not found any crucial lead against her.”

On Sunday, the police arrested Virender Arora, who, according to Khurana’s statement, had introduced the girl to her. It was Arora who helped the police to trace the girl. The police wanted to bring her face to face with the reporter in the sting show, but the latter could not be contacted. The girl might be called again for questioning.

In her statement to the police, Khurana said it was the first time she was soliciting for a girl.

Arora, a resident of Jhilmil area in east Delhi, has been kept in police remand for one day. The police say they will interrogate him and try to get fresh leads into the case.

They suspect that there might be a larger network working behind the scenes. The police are also checking Arora’s past record and his background. “We will explore all possibilities and angles,” the officer added.