ADILABAD: Close on the heels of the Asifabad police busting a gang involved in trafficking a tribal woman, the Adilabad police on Saturday disclosed that they have arrested three persons, including the couple who kidnapped a Class X student, and the man from Rajasthan who “bought” her for Rs 10,000, confined her in his home and repeatedly raped her.
Adilabad Deputy Superintendent of Police L Jeevan Reddy said the girl, who is under 16 years of age, was kidnapped by Nirmala Bapunya Atram (47) and her husband Bapunya Rajaram Atram (49), both residents of Kinhi village in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra. The couple allegedly sold the girl to Karan alias Bhagwat Menon of Rajasthan for Rs 10,000.
A case of kidnapping and human trafficking has been registered at Bhimpur police station against the three accused.
According to Jeevan Reddy, the Class X student was living at her relatives’ house. On June 2, Nirmala and Bapunya, who had recently moved to the village, reportedly lured her on the pretext of taking her to a function. They took her to Kinhi in Maharashtra, then to Nagpur by bus, and from there to Kota, Rajasthan, by train. She was subsequently taken to an unidentified village and handed over to Karan.
The girl’s mother and maternal uncle searched for her at the houses of several relatives before lodging a complaint at Bhimpur police station on June 22. Hearing about this, Nirmala and Bapunya alerted Karan. Karan handed the girl to Nirmala the next day, and she brought the girl back home on June 25.
During the investigation, police found that Karan was already married. The accused were arrested at the railway station while attempting to flee. Police seized a mobile phone and Rs 2,000 in cash from them.
Jeevan Reddy stated that strict action would be taken against human traffickers.