Was Lured Into ‘Marriage’ By 24-Year-Old Rescued from verge of sex trade, 13-yr-old reunites with family

The man would beat her up, but also keep promising that he would take her back to her village. Eventually, though, he tried to sell her to a brothel in GB Road.

However, his luck ran out as the man he contacted — assuming he was a brothel owner — turned out to be the Station House Officer (SHO) of Kamla Market police station, who was trying to rescue the girl. As reported by The Indian Express on November 23, the girl was rescued from New Delhi railway station on November 21.

Following the arrest of the accused, the girl’s parents, who had kept quiet for the past two months fearing reprisal from people in their village, finally met their daughter in Delhi on Tuesday. The girl had registered her statements before the CWC and her parents, who reached Delhi four days ago, had been staying at a hotel at Ajmeri Gate.

After all procedures were complete, the reunion finally took place. “Are you all right?” her mother asked. “Yes,” the girl nodded. The mother’s eyes welled up with tears and she pulled her daughter towards her for a tight embrace. “The girl’s father has been working as a manual labourer in Punjab. During the harvest season, they work in my fields. Her mother knew about the entire incident, but with her husband working in a far-off state, there was little she could do,” Bindeshwar, the couple’s employer, who funded their trip to the capital, said.

Police said the girl was lured to Delhi by the accused, Amar, who was working as a caterer at a funeral, where he met the girl. The two kept in touch, and towards the end of October, she left her house with some money to buy train tickets. “Amar coordinated the entire thing. He told me where I could purchase the tickets from and how to reach Delhi. After I reached, he took me to a flat in Gurgaon,” the girl said.

The one-room house was her home for the next moth after she was married off in a mock ceremony in front of four people. “He put some sindoor on my forehead and we were married. I used to cook food for him. He was nice initially. I knew he was married and had a son. But he wanted to have children with me as well and told me that he would keep the both of us happy,” the girl said.

The girl’s mother, meanwhile, ran from pillar to post to look for her daughter. Her eldest daughter was at her in-laws’ house while the youngest daughter is an infant. “I had no one to help me. My husband was away and I am not educated enough. I never approached the local police,” her mother said.

The girl said, “He used to drink and beat me up. He took away my SIM card to ensure I spoke to no one. Once, I managed to speak to my elder sister,” the girl said. “He told me that he was taking me to Delhi. It was around this time that I felt that someone from the police was trying to save me,” the girl said. Free now, the girl will return to her village. “Police have given us Rs 4,000. We don’t know what will happen once we return. The village is furious after they got to know about the case,” Bindeshwar said.