Mumbai: The recent abduction of a girl from Maharashtra's Aurangabad and her subsequent release has stirred a hornet's nest. Concerns rose over the alleged trafficking from the state with police receiving over 1,100 missing complaints of women last year. Police say that a large number of women from Maharashtra are being kidnapped and were being trafficked to Rajasthan for forced marriage in view of a lower female sex ratio there.
According to an official of the Mumbai Police, a 17-year-old girl from Bahndup area of Maharashtra had suddenly gone missing. As soon as the missing complaint was lodged by the family, the Parksite police launched a search operation and rescued her from Aurangabad. During subsequent investigation, it came to light that the girl was sold by the traffickers and married to 50-year-old Bhavaram Mali from Jalore, Rajasthan.
Also read: MoS lays down 3-year stats on Child Trafficking in RS
The minor girl's kidnapping has brought to light the large-scale trafficking of women from Maharashtra. According to Mumbai Police, at least 1,164 missing complaints of girls have been registered in the last year (2022). Out of the total received complaints, a total of 1,047 cases have been investigated by the police, the official said.
In 2021, a total of 1,103 cases of kidnapping have been registered and the police has succeeded in investigating 949 cases, a police official said. According to Mumbai Police, a total of 779 kidnapping cases have been registered in 2020. Out of them, 678 crimes have been investigated. As per an official, the women are auctioned for one to two lakh rupees by taking advantage of their poverty. They are either lured by money or kidnapped.
Between 2020 and 2022, the graph of kidnapping of women in Mumbai is on the rise. According to a recent report by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 363 minor girls were among a total of 418 women who were abducted for marriage purpose in 2021. It included two young women from Mumbai. The kidnappings are being attributed to a low female sex ratio in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana.
