Dwaipayan Ghosh,TNN | Sep 21, 2011, 02.25 AM IST

NEW DELHI: Thanks to its skewed sex ratio, one Haryana's worst kept secrets is back to haunt the capital with Delhi police claiming to have busted a gang that used to abduct young girls and sell them off to middle-aged men and their brothers in Haryana as brides. Shocking, these girls, often younger than 15, were subjected to the worst form of slavery – they performed household chores all day and then had to become sexual victims of over-aged men at night.

The racket, which was run by two women in their late 40s, came to light when the SHO of Seelampur, Sanjiv Gupta, rescued a 14-year-old girl who had been kidnapped from Seelampur in September.

"The victim's father reported that his 14-year-old girl had gone missing from her house on September 1 and he suspected that someone had lured his daughter away. Immediately a case of kidnapping was registered and investigation began. Technical surveillance led to police raids in Karnal and Kurukshetra where the girl was rescue and the traffickers Sanjida (45) and Aashiya (49) arrested,'' said Sanjay K Jain, DCP (northeast)

According to police sources, the girl had been sold to a farmer Randhir Singh (32), for Rs 70,000.

In her statement, the victim narrated the ordeal she had gone through. A resident of Shastri Park, the girl had gone on a trip to Khajuri Khas to meet a friend but unfortunately lost her way. While trying to return home by asking strangers for directions, the girl was noticed by one of the traffickers, Sanjida, who lured her home on the pretext of giving her a cold drink. The girl was then forcefully taken to Shahbad, in the district of Kurukshetra, to Aashia, who had in the meantime arranged for a customer. Singh, whose wife had died recently, paid Rs 70,000 to the women and took the girl to a local temple where they were "married," said an officer.

"So far, we have been told that over 12 girls have been sold at Kurekshetra and Karnal in Haryana. However, the number can be more. We are questioning the main trafficker in this regard and her police remand is crucial to ascertain the exact number of victims,'' said Sanjay K Jain, DCP (northeast).

"Randhir was looking for a girl to be his wife. The only motive behind this "marriage" was to arrange for a girl who could do all household chores and look after elder members besides fulfilling his sexual needs,'' said Jain. Sanjida led the police on a long chase, but was nabbed finally on September 19 from Haryana,'' said Jain.

During preliminary examinations, she disclosed that earlier her husband Jaipal used to supply girls in Haryana. After his murder five months back by her own step-son (she is a mother of eight), she took over the "business."

"She confessed that her husband had sold more than a dozen girls so far. They used to look for vulnerable and defenseless girls who they could easily lure, influence and win over through false assurances or threats," said the police.

Most of the girls ere either illiterate or came from impoverished backgrounds. The accused used to trawl ISBTs and railway stations looking for lonely girls who had either run away home or were on the lookout for employment. They lured them away with false promises and threats. Then came the horror.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Cops-bust-bride-trafficking-ring-in-Haryana/articleshow/10059097.cms?