Case registered against six persons for rape, sexual exploitation of woman, minors

The case has been lodged against six people for abduction and sexual exploitation of a young woman in Maharashtra. The accused took the victims to Gujarat where one of them was forcibly married to a man, police said in a release here on Wednesday.

Nagpur:The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of city police has registered a case against six persons including two women for alleged abduction and sexual exploitation of a young woman, her four-year-old daughter and two teenage girls. The accused took the victims to Gujarat where one of them was forcibly married to a man, police said in a release here on Wednesday.

As per the complaint, city residents Nanda Paunikar and Mangala Warkade induced a 26-year-old woman and two 17-year-old girls to travel to Gujarat, promising them jobs. On July 26, the woman, her daughter and the two girls landed in Rajkot. The woman was then `married' to one Santosh (30), a sanitation worker, and then all four victims were sent with him to Jamnagar.

Between July 26 and September 7, Santosh, his brothers Golu (21) and Prateek (19) allegedly raped and sexually assaulted the woman. Her daughter also fell victim to sexual assault and the two teenage girls accompanying them also faced similar exploitation, the police said. After managing to escape and returning to Nagpur, the woman approached Yashodhara Nagar police station where a First Information Report under Indian Penal Code sections 363 (kidnapping), 370 (human trafficking), 376 (rape) and other relevant provisions besides the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act was registered. No arrest has been made in the case and further probe was on, police said.