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4 arrested for ‘drugging, sexually assaulting’ 3 minor girls in Delhi, had plans to ‘sell’ them

Delhi Police’s initial probe reveals a larger trafficking syndicate at play. A fifth accused, who lured the girls to the house where the incident took place, is yet to be arrested.

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New Delhi: Three minor girls were allegedly kidnapped, drugged and sexually assaulted in a house in New Delhi’s Rohini area on 6 August. The Delhi Police on 8 August arrested four people in the case including two women who were allegedly present in the room when the sexual assault took place.

A fifth individual, the main accused in the case, who allegedly lured the girls, took them to the house in Rohini and raped them, is absconding.

Those arrested include Bangali Lal Sharma (45), Rukhsana (40), Sandeep (36) and Jyoti (19). The accused have been booked under the Indian Penal Code’s (IPC) sections for rape, criminal intimidation, trafficking, criminal conspiracy, and under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act, 2012.

According to the Police, the accused were also planning to “sell” the minors in Chandigarh, but the girls managed to escape and were later found by the police in Karol Bagh on 8 August.

The matter came to light on the day of the girls’ disappearance (6 August), when the father of one of the girls approached the Defence Colony Police Station and a case of kidnapping was registered. Two days later the girls were rescued from Karol Bagh.

“It was found that a total of three minor girls from the same school had gone missing. CCTV footage of the area was checked. We received information that the girls were seen in the Karol Bagh area. They were medically examined and all the prosecutrix gave history of sexual assault,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Benita Mary Jaiker said.

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has sought a detailed report from the Delhi Police in the matter and asked that strict action be taken. According to the DCW notice, “the minor girls were planning to go to Mumbai” and reached the New Delhi Railway Station where the accused, on the pretext of booking their tickets, allegedly lured them away, took them to the Rohini house and sedated and sexually assaulted them.


Also read: ‘If a girl is alone, she’s not so believable’: Bihar’s mahila thanas are no place for women


Alleged trafficking racket

On the basis of the girls’ statement, the police raided the house in Rohini. “Bangali Sharma was found at the spot of crime and the investigation has revealed that this was all part of a syndicate of selling girls,” said DCP Jaiker, adding that their initial probe has found that Sharma allegedly ran the racket with Rukhsana.

“The minors identified the man and said that he along with the fifth main accused had taken them to the house in Rohini and given them spiked drinks. As per present details, only the main accused then sexually assaulted them,” said Jaiker.

“They first went in the Metro and then took an auto to reach the house,” she said, adding that the house in Rohini, they have found, is owned by the main accused and that he also has “previous involvements”.

The two ladies, the police added, were present in the room when the alleged incident of rape took place. “Sandeep and Sharma transported the girls from one place to another. Further investigation is on,” she said.

(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)


Also read: Rape is born in adolescent minds. But where does it end?


 

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