16-yr-old girl rescued from Patiala, man held for kidnapping

A 16-year-old girl, who went missing from her south Delhi home nearly 15 days ago, was rescued from a factory at Patiala in Punjab on Wednesday, and a 20-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly kidnapping her on the pretext of marriage. He allegedly befriended her through a gaming app, police officers aware of the matter said on Friday.
The name of the suspect has been withheld for investigation purposes, said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.
The girl’s family approached the local police and filed a missing complaint on August 6, following which a case of kidnapping was registered at the Vasant Kunj North police station, they added.
The operation was conducted by the anti-human traffic unit (AHTU) of the crime branch of the Delhi Police, they said.
The girl was sexually assaulted by the accused, who is originally from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh, while she was in his custody. His initial interrogation revealed that he had been involved in similar crimes in the past. A few months ago, he allegedly lured another girl from UP after befriending her through the same multi-player gaming application. He also took the girl to Punjab from where she was safely rescued by the UP Police, investigators said.
“However, the suspect claims that he was not arrested in the previous case as the girl and her family did not press any charges against him. We will verify his claims with our UP counterpart,” said the above quoted officer.
The officer added that the custody of the rescued girl and the man has been given to the Vasant Kunj North police station that is investigating the case. The charges of sexual assault may be added to the first information report (FIR) that was registered on August 6 under section 137(2) (kidnapping) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, on the basis of the complaint of the family of the minor girl, the officer added.
Another police officer aware of the case said that the girl lives with her family members in Vasant Kunj and her parents are labourers.
“Investigators scanned her phone call records and found that she was in regular contact with a person from Hardoi. Further technical investigation revealed that they were in Patiala. A team of AHTU went to Patiala and raided a plastic granules manufacturing factory and rescued the girl. She was living there with the man,” added the second officer.
The officer said that the girl told the team members that she left her home to marry the accused. A few weeks ago, they have also met in Uttar Pradesh where the girl had gone with her family members to attend a family function, he added.
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