New Delhi, Aug 9 — The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has rescued a minor girl from West Bengal, missing since August 2023, from Rajasthan’s Pali district and arrested five accused for allegedly selling her twice for illegal marriage.
The girl, a resident of Bardhaman, disappeared on August 9, 2023, after leaving home for tuition. Initial investigations by local police and the West Bengal CID failed to trace her. Following a petition by her mother, the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the CBI on February 16, 2024.
The accused have been identified as Bharat Kumar, Jagdish Kumar, Mena Dapuben, Rata Ram, and Dilip Kumar. According to the CBI, the girl, a minor at the time of her disappearance, was falsely shown as an adult in affidavits prepared for her marriages. She was reportedly sold twice, and investigators suspect the involvement of a larger human trafficking network.
Acting on leads developed through source information and call detail record (CDR) analysis, the CBI traced the girl’s possible location to Pali. A team was dispatched, and after verifying the intelligence, the girl was rescued on August 8 from one of the accused’s residences.
The agency is now probing the wider network that facilitated the abduction and trafficking. Officials said the case highlights the growing concern over trafficking of minors for forced marriages, a crime prevalent in some parts of the country.
As per government data tabled in Parliament, crimes against women have been consistently high, with the National Crime Records Bureau recording 3,78,236 cases in 2018, 4,05,326 in 2019, 3,71,503 in 2020, 4,28,278 in 2021, and 4,45,256 in 2022.
The rescued girl is now in safe custody, and arrangements are being made for her rehabilitation.
