Man arrested for abducting, marrying minor after 15 years

After a long chase of 15 years, a man accused of abducting and marrying a minor has been arrested from Saharanpur. Sandeep had married the minor and the couple started living in Uttarakhand's Tehri with different names.

Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh): A man accused of abducting and marrying a minor girl has been arrested after one-and-a-half decades from Janta Road in Saharanpur on Thursday. The accused identified as Sandeep had abducted a minor and married her, following which her family lodged a complaint against Sandeep with the Dehat Kotwali Police Station.

Superintendent of Police (SP) city Abhimanyu Manglik said, "Sandeep abducted Pinky, who was then a minor in 2007 and married her. The couple fled to Uttarakhand's Tehri where they lived under a different name. They returned to Saharanpur after eight years and started living here with their two daughters in a rented flat. Sandeep changed his name to Mukesh and Pinky to Sangeeta. Sandeep used to work as a mason. Sandeep has been arrested under the POCSO act."

Manglik further said, "After police failed to trace the couple, a bounty of Rs 5,000 was announced for anyone, who tells the whereabouts of Sandeep, which was gradually increased to Rs 25,000." Ramdhan, a resident of Ferozepur village, had accused Maniram's son Sandeep of the village of having lured his 15-year-old daughter Pinky. The police registered a case and started an investigation into the matter. However, police failed to trace the couple. The couple fled to Uttarakhand and started living there under different names with their two daughters 13 and nine years of age.