A woman from Odisha was allegedly sold at a public auction in Hamirpur district in Uttar Pradesh, a media report said on Friday.
According to the report, the auction took place at the Baratghar (community centre) in Jarakhar village and continued till well into Thursday night. The woman was ultimately bought by the highest bidder, a resident of the village who paid Rs25,000 and took possession of her.The report, quoting sources, said the woman had originally been bought by a resident of Jharakhar village Sohanlal Valmiki, who worked in Odisha for a few months. Valmiki had taken the woman to his village some days back.
“After exploiting the woman for all these days, Valmiki decided to sell her through an auction to get the best price. The initial bid for the hapless woman was for Rs10,000, which went up to Rs15,000. The woman, according to the reports, refused to go with an old man who had agreed to pay Rs15,000. Ultimately, Brijbhan Kori of the same village bought her for Rs25,000 and took her away,” the newspaper report said, adding that hundreds of curious onlookers were also present when the auction took place.
“We have reports of such an auction. We are investigating it. Stern action will be taken against the guilty if the reports turn out true,” a police officer was quoted as saying.“Earlier also, reports of buying of young girls from Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand by UP youths, especially from the western region, have been received. The sex ratio has decreased alarmingly in the western districts in the State and families are finding it very difficult to get brides for their men,” the newspaper report further said.