NOIDA: A 55-year-old man who ‘bought’ himself a wife in December 2021 was sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Pocso court in a case that underlined how a social problem has been feeding criminal networks of traffickers.
The court also sentenced seven persons involved in trafficking the girl, including her neighbour in a Dadri village, to four years of rigorous imprisonment each.
The 18-year-old girl was abducted from outside her home on December 26, 2021, and sold as a ‘bride‘ for Rs 70,000 to Haryana resident Jasveer Singh. Chavanpal Bhati, the special public prosecutor, said police began looking for the girl after her mother filed a kidnapping complaint and rescued her from Singh’s home at Mahara village in Sonipat after two weeks.
The case went to a Pocso court because the mother had claimed the girl was 12 years old when she was abducted. During the trial, an ossification test determined her age to be 18, and hence charges under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act were dropped.
Bhati said the girl’s neighbour Gudiya alias Nazreen was the main agent in the trafficking racket. The girl had told Gudiya she liked a man, Sunil, who is among the convicts in the case, but her mother was against their relationship. Gudiya exploited this and promised to help the girl meet Sunil.
On December 26, 2021, she took the girl to Ghaziabad where two more later convicted – Puja and Kiran – joined them. The three women then took the girl to Haryana and sold her to Jasveer. During the trial, the girl told the court that on the day she was abducted, Gudiya had come visiting with a bottle of water in her hand. She said the water was laced with sedatives as she lost control soon after taking a gulp. She said Gudiya took her to Vijay Nagar and the next day, Gudiya, Puja and Kiran took her to a house in Haryana, which belonged to Bhupendra.
“Some more people joined us and married me off to Jasveer despite my resistance. From there, Jasveer took me to his home in Sonipat,” the girl told the court. The girl claimed Jasveer locked her in a room when he left the house. It was only after two weeks that she got a chance to call her mother, after which she was finally rescued.
The girl claimed she was sexually assaulted by the accused, but medical examination was not conclusive. Jasveer’s counsel Kishan Lal Parashar submitted the girl was not a minor and that charges under the Pocso Act should be withdrawn. He also claimed the girl could have raised an alarm if there was any compulsion.
The prosecution cited Haryana’s skewed sex ratio at birth – as per the 2011 Census, 879 girls per 1000 boys – due to which such incidents take place, arguing Jasveer, too, had ‘bought’ a bride. Haryana’s sex ratio at birth has since improved and is now 916. However, since the 2021 Census is overdue, comparative Census data is not available.
The court said the girl in her statements under CrPC Sections 161 and 164 stated she was raped. “Jasveer bought her for Rs 70,000, which shows the intent of the accused. This proves beyond reasonable doubt that she was trafficked and raped and the eight accused are convicted,” the court ruled.
Special judge (Pocso Act) Chandra Mohan Shrivastava sentenced Jasveer to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a Rs 30,000 fine under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC. Gudiya, Puja, Kiran, Dharmraj, Kabool, Rupkishore and Nawab were sentenced to four years of imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000 each under Section 370 A(2) (trafficking a person) of IPC.
Two more persons – Naushad and Sunil – were also convicted but they were not sentenced on Friday as they have been absconding. The court has issued a non-bailable warrant against them. Bhupender, who was also charged with trafficking, died during the trial.
The court also sentenced seven persons involved in trafficking the girl, including her neighbour in a Dadri village, to four years of rigorous imprisonment each.
The 18-year-old girl was abducted from outside her home on December 26, 2021, and sold as a ‘bride‘ for Rs 70,000 to Haryana resident Jasveer Singh. Chavanpal Bhati, the special public prosecutor, said police began looking for the girl after her mother filed a kidnapping complaint and rescued her from Singh’s home at Mahara village in Sonipat after two weeks.
The case went to a Pocso court because the mother had claimed the girl was 12 years old when she was abducted. During the trial, an ossification test determined her age to be 18, and hence charges under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act were dropped.
Bhati said the girl’s neighbour Gudiya alias Nazreen was the main agent in the trafficking racket. The girl had told Gudiya she liked a man, Sunil, who is among the convicts in the case, but her mother was against their relationship. Gudiya exploited this and promised to help the girl meet Sunil.
On December 26, 2021, she took the girl to Ghaziabad where two more later convicted – Puja and Kiran – joined them. The three women then took the girl to Haryana and sold her to Jasveer. During the trial, the girl told the court that on the day she was abducted, Gudiya had come visiting with a bottle of water in her hand. She said the water was laced with sedatives as she lost control soon after taking a gulp. She said Gudiya took her to Vijay Nagar and the next day, Gudiya, Puja and Kiran took her to a house in Haryana, which belonged to Bhupendra.
“Some more people joined us and married me off to Jasveer despite my resistance. From there, Jasveer took me to his home in Sonipat,” the girl told the court. The girl claimed Jasveer locked her in a room when he left the house. It was only after two weeks that she got a chance to call her mother, after which she was finally rescued.
The girl claimed she was sexually assaulted by the accused, but medical examination was not conclusive. Jasveer’s counsel Kishan Lal Parashar submitted the girl was not a minor and that charges under the Pocso Act should be withdrawn. He also claimed the girl could have raised an alarm if there was any compulsion.
The prosecution cited Haryana’s skewed sex ratio at birth – as per the 2011 Census, 879 girls per 1000 boys – due to which such incidents take place, arguing Jasveer, too, had ‘bought’ a bride. Haryana’s sex ratio at birth has since improved and is now 916. However, since the 2021 Census is overdue, comparative Census data is not available.
The court said the girl in her statements under CrPC Sections 161 and 164 stated she was raped. “Jasveer bought her for Rs 70,000, which shows the intent of the accused. This proves beyond reasonable doubt that she was trafficked and raped and the eight accused are convicted,” the court ruled.
Special judge (Pocso Act) Chandra Mohan Shrivastava sentenced Jasveer to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a Rs 30,000 fine under Section 376 (rape) of the IPC. Gudiya, Puja, Kiran, Dharmraj, Kabool, Rupkishore and Nawab were sentenced to four years of imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000 each under Section 370 A(2) (trafficking a person) of IPC.
Two more persons – Naushad and Sunil – were also convicted but they were not sentenced on Friday as they have been absconding. The court has issued a non-bailable warrant against them. Bhupender, who was also charged with trafficking, died during the trial.