Delhi Police arrested four people for allegedly luring a 14-year-old girl from Odisha to work here and then forcing her into flesh trade in Northwest Delhi’s Netaji Subhash Place area, police said on Friday.
A senior police official said, “The minor girl knew one of the accused woman well. Since both the victim and the accused belonged to the same village in Orissa, the woman convinced the poor parents of the minor girl to send the victim to the national Capital. The minor girl told the investigators that she was being sexually assaulted by the accused men for more than seven months.
The ordeal of the minor girl came to an end on Thursday only when she managed to escape from the claws of her tormentors. On Thursday, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) rescued the girl, following which they approached police and four people were arrested.
Milind Dumbere, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) said, “Asif, Babulal Mondal and a lady were arrested on Thursday. Meanwhile, another woman was arrested on Friday.”
The 181 women helpline of DCW received a call on Thursday informing them about a girl, who was roaming on a road, a DCW official said, adding her clothes were torn and she was crying profusely.
“The girl said that some men were chasing her and wanted to abduct her. “The case was immediately forwarded to the Mobile Helpline (MHl) counsellor who then also informed the local police,” the DCW official said. The MHl van reached the spot and rescued the girl with the help of the local police.
The girl told police that she belongs to Odisha and her father had passed away. A woman, Durga, from her village had brought her to Delhi on pretext of getting her a job here one year ago. She runs a placement agency in Shakurpur by the name of Durga Placement Agency. Initially, the minor was placed in a home in Vikaspuri as a domestic help, he said.
However, even after working for eight months, she was not paid a single penny and all the money was taken by Durga. Two months back, Durga got her placed in the house of Rita in Shakurpur, the official said.
Police said that for the last 15 days, everyday 3-4 men used to come to Rita’s house and rape and sexually assault the minor girl.
On Thursday, the girl managed to escape from the house and was seen by the caller who informed the DCW helpline.
The girl told officials that Durga has two husbands. One of them runs the placement agency and another acts as an agent to bring girls from Odisha and pushes them into prostitution. Durga, Rita, Babulal Mondal and Asif have been arrested. Police said that they have sent the girl to live in a shelter home and efforts are on to identify the role of other men who sexually assaulted the minor girl.