18-yr-old buys bride for Rs 1 lakh

An 18-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh recently bought a Delhi girl for Rs 1 lakh because he could not find a match for himself in his village — affected by rampant female foeticide and an adverse sex ratio.

An 18-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh recently bought a Delhi girl for Rs 1 lakh because he could not find a match for himself in his village — affected by rampant female foeticide and an adverse sex ratio.

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The incident was reported from Satwari village near Meerut in UP.

The Delhi Police rescued the girl from Satwari and arrested three people, including her husband, on charges of kidnapping, rape, criminal intimidation and illegal confinement.

The 14-year-old girl went missing from near her home in Kapashera area of southwest Delhi on January 12.

"The victim's mother lodged a complaint with the police and said that the girl had gone to Gurgaon where she worked but did not return home. We had registered a case of kidnapping," said K Jagadesan, DCP (southwest).

During investigations, it was found that a couple living near her home also went missing the same day.

"We raided the couple's native place in Bulandshahr but could not trace her. On specific inputs, we came to know that she had been married to a person named Sonu near a village in Meerut. We sent teams to rescue the girl," said the officer.

The girl's 'husband' Sonu told the police that his family had bought the girl through a mediator named Rajeev.

The police later arrested Rajeev and the girl's neighbour Anita, who was involved in the crime.

A search has been launched to arrest Anita's partner Jasbir.

Anita and Jasbir had reportedly lured the girl to Meerut on the pretext of finding a decent job for her.

But they took her to Satwari village instead and sold her for Rs 1 lakh.