A 22-year-old woman from Simdega in Jharkhand was rescued and reunited with her family on Monday, highlighting the persistent menace of human trafficking. She had been lured, sold, and forced into marriage in an unfamiliar land.
The Ordeal Begins
In 2023, when the woman was 19, a man from a nearby village coaxed her to accompany him to Delhi. What followed was a harrowing chain of events. Simdega Deputy Superintendent of Police Ranveer Singh told TOI on Tuesday, "In Delhi, she was dropped at a placement centre, which engaged her as a domestic help in a house. She worked there for a month. Meanwhile, the trafficker contacted her, asking her to come to the Anand Vihar bus terminal. When she reached, he switched off his mobile."
Stranded and Trafficked Again
Stranded at the terminal, she was approached by a man from Meerut. "The man asked her to accompany him to Uttar Pradesh," Singh added. "She was kept in a hotel in Meerut. Within two to three days, the man and his wife took her to Barmer in Rajasthan, where they sold her for Rs 3 lakh."
Forced Marriage and Abuse
The woman was forcibly married to her "buyer" and endured severe mental agony and physical harassment. During this period, she also gave birth to a child. "It was not her family members who informed us. Rather, we got inputs from Rajasthan," Singh said.
Rescue Operation
"After receiving inputs and acting on the directive of Simdega Superintendent of Police Shrikant S Khotre, we constituted a team led by the officer in charge of the anti-human trafficking unit. They rescued her and brought her to Simdega on Monday, handing her over to her family members," the DSP added.
Legal Action
Four accused have been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in connection with this case. Police are actively trying to arrest them.
