4 Held For Sexually Assaulting, Trafficking Minor Girls; Main Accused Absconding

Those arrested met the girls at the railway station, took them to a house and laced their drink with sedatives.

Gender minorities protesting against the rampant rape culture in India. Image used for representational purposes.

(Image Courtesy: Wikipedia)

(Trigger Warning: Mentions sexual assault. Reader discretion advised.)

Four people, including two women were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting, kidnapping, and drugging three minor school students in Delhi's Rohini, police said on Thursday, 11July.

The arrested, identified as Bangali Lal Sharma (45), Rukhsana (40), Sandeep (36) and Jyoti (19), were allegedly planning to take them to Chandigarh to ‘sell’ them but the minors managed to escape.

Sharma revealed to the police that he, along with Ruksana, used to run a human trafficking syndicate. They reportedly wanted to sell the girls in Chandigarh.

Prakash, the main accused, who lured the minors and raped them, is yet to be arrested.

What Had Happened?

The father of one of the children, in a complaint filed on 6 August alleged that his daughter and her two classmates left home for school in South Delhi but didn’t reach their destination.

Two days later, they were found in Karol Bagh and rescued.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Benita Mary Jaiker said the police found that not only the complainant's daughter but two other girls from the school, too, had gone missing.

"During investigation, parents and classmates of all missing girls were questioned. CCTV footage of the area was checked.

"Information was received about their movement in Karol Bagh area from where they were traced and medically examined. All the prosecutrix gave history of sexual assault," she said.

The girls, who had reportedly planned to go to Mumbai together, met the perprators at the railway station. There, they met a stranger, who offered to book their tickets, took them to his room in Rohini and gave them spiked drinks.

“After they consumed the drinks, the accused raped them. As per the evidence, only the main accused raped the minors. He was then trying to take them to Chandigarh to sell them. The minors managed to escape and reached Karol Bagh in an auto,” the DCP told The Indian Express.

Following this, raids were conducted and the arrests were made under sections of kidnapping, causing hurt by poison, rape, criminal intimidation, trafficking, criminal conspiracy and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Meanwhile, terming it a "very serious" matter, the DCW has sent a notice to the police demanding that strict action be taken.