PUDUCHERRY: Five minor girls from Cheyyar in Tamil Nadu, who were sold by their parents to a duck rearer in Puducherry and sexually assaulted for the past one and half years, were recently rescued by the police.
Based on the statements from the children, six persons, including duck rearer Kanniappan, his family members and associates, were taken into custody, Senior Superintendent of Police (Law and Order) Prateeksha Godara said on Monday.
Three of the girls were sold by their mother after their father’s death. Their mother started living with another man, a labourer in sugarcane plantations, who sold the other two girls around one and half years ago, police said. The five children are between the ages of 12 and 14 years. Police said the girls had been moved from one place to another in nearby parts of TN to rear ducks and were sexually assaulted by the men who took them.
According to Godara, on October 21 the police received a complaint from the child welfare committee stating that five girls, aged 12 to 14 years, who were sold by their parents to Kaniappan for Rs 3000 were being kept as bonded labour for rearing ducks in an area under Mangalam police station limits. While two of the children were rescued on October 21, the other three were rescued on Oct 22 and sheltered in a child care institution and given psychological counselling.
Based on the statement given by one of the girls, the police registered a case under Section 6 and 12 of the POCSO Act 2012 and 376 (iii) of the IPC read with 34 IPC at the Mangalam police station.
All five children were admitted in the Rajiv Gandhi Women and Children Hospital for medical examination and treatment. Godara said the children’s statement was recorded by following all legal procedures.
The six accused are Kanniappan, his son Rajkumar, nephew Pasupathi and workers Iyyanar, Siva and Moorthy and others. After testing them for COVID-19, they will be arrested and sent to judicial custody, she said.
The SSP regretted that people who had knowledge of such cruel and unlawful acts had failed to come forward and alert the authorities. She urged people to use toll free numbers 100, 112, 1031 and Child line 1091 to alert officials about children in danger.