AHMEDABAD, May 22 (IANS) Police in Gujarat have busted a device involved in the trafficking of girls, and have arrested seven people in this regard, an official said on Monday.
The arrested persons have been identified as Ashok Patel, his wife Renuka Patel, Rupal Makwan, Motibhai Sinema, Amutji Thakur, Chaharsinh Solanki and a minor.
“There are a few other people also under the radar and we are looking for them,” Sub Inspector Jayesh Kallotra of Kanbha Police Station told IANS.
Young girls were kidnapped, raped, beaten and eventually sold into marriage to men in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and some in Gujarat to make money.
Gang members used to sell girls between Rs 2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh.
The police managed to identify and find a girl who was kidnapped by Ashok Patel from Ahmedabad.
It is learned that she was raped and forced to marry more than two men. Police said Ashok’s wife, Renuka, was actively involved in supporting her husband’s activities.
“About 8 to 9 girls are stuck in human trafficking operations of which about 14 years old the girl is from Kanbha. She was beaten for two days by Ashok and in the end he raped her four times.
“She is a resident of Kanbha village. Ashok and Renuka established friendly relations with the minor’s family. As a result, the minor used to visit Ashok’s house in the same village very often,” Kallotra added.
He said that the accused’s modus operandi was to search for girls from poor families, rape them, and torture them psychologically, before finally “selling” them.
– Jans
January / pgh
