Ahmedabad: The police in Gujarat have busted a racket that was allegedly involved in trafficking of girls, and arrested seven persons in this connection, an official said on Monday.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Ashok Patel, his wife Renuka Patel, Rupal Macwan, Motibhai Senma, Amutji Thakor, Cheharsinh Solanki, and a minor.
“A few more persons are also under the radar and we are looking for them,” Sub-Inspector Jayesh Kalotra of Kanbha Police Station, told IANS,
Young girls were abducted, raped, beaten up, and eventually even sold for marriage to men in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and some in Gujarat, to earn money.
The gang members used to sell the girls between Rs 2 lakh to 2.5 lakh.
The police have been able to identify and find a girl who was abducted by Ashok Patel from Ahmedabad.
It was learnt that she was raped and forced into marrying more than two men. Ashok’s wife, Renuka, used to actively participate in supporting her husband’s activities, the police said.
“Around 8-9 young girls were stuck in human trafficking racket of which the girl from Kanbha is around 14 years old. She was beaten for two days by Ashok and eventually, he raped her four times,” Kalotra said.
“She is a resident of Kanbha village. Ashok and Renuka had formed cordial relations with the minor’s family. Due to this, the minor used to often visit Ashok’s home in the same village,” added Kalotra.
He said the modus operandi of the accused was to look for girls from poor families, rape, and mentally torture them, before eventually ‘selling them off’.
–IANS