Mumbai: Cops rescue 17-year-old girl abducted and sold in Aurangabad

Image used for representational purpose.

Parksite cops have succeeded in rescuing a 17-year-old who was abducted and sold to a shop owner in Aurangabad for Rs 1 Lakh. The girl was upset with her boyfriend as he didn't show up to meet her. Watching her alone, a couple abducted her on the pretext of taking her to places and sold her to a 34-year-old man. The girl has been rescued and reunited with her family.

On February 23, a parent rushed to Parksite police station and complained that their 17-year-old daughter is untraceable since morning. The girl had gone to college but didn't return home. Bhandup cops registered a kidnapping case against unknown persons and started to trace the girl. But during the technical analysis, cops found she headed to Dadar railway station. DCP (Zone 7) Purushottam Karad directed Senior Inspector Vinayak Mer to form a special team to find the missing girl.

"We screened all the CCTV footage of the railway station and found the girl walking with a duo. They boarded a express train, investigation revealed that they all boarded Hubli Express" told an official from Parksite police station. "We tracked all the possible deboarding railway stations and found trio got down at Miraj railway station."

A team of cops led by API Vikas Patil was dispatched to Miraj to track the girl. Screening of CCTV footage revealed that the girl sat on the bike with the duo, which was transported from the same express. Cops got the name of the person who had booked the shipment of bike and started tacking him.

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"We got information that, the women had come to a tea stall on 22nd December in Chembur. The teal seller was caught on 16th January, who told the women is his wife Sunita alias Sudha Joshi (24) and Ladappa Govi (34), both resident of Belgaum," said an officer.

The trio stayed in the Miraj for a week. During investigation cops found that, they had taken girl to Gujarat. Cops tried to track the girl but they were consistently changing their locations" told another official. "Finally cops got clue that the girl is at Aurangabad. The team rushed to the spot and finally found the girl" added official.

"The duo Sudha Joshi and Ladappa Govi are maternal uncle and niece. They had sold the girl to Aurangabad based 34 year old shop owner for R1 lakh with the help of Ganpati Kamble (50), the man who got married with the girl has been arrested too" told Vinayak Mer, Senior Inspector of Parksite police station. "The kidnappers tried to make a forged Aadhar card of the girl but failed. The marriage took place in a temple, the man knew the girl is minor but as he couldn't find the girl he married to the girl" he added.

All the accused have been booked for kidnapping, trafficking, Prevention of Children from Sexual offences (POCSO) Act and The prohibition of Child Marriage Act. All the accused were produced before court and they have been remanded 27th January.