A 17-year-old girl from Madhya Pradesh, India, embarked on a trip after completing her class 10 exams, only to be abducted and sold as a bride twice. The Child Welfare Committee (CWC) official in Kota, Rajasthan, revealed that the girl was found by the railway police, shortly after she had attempted suicide at the house where she was held captive for months against her will.
The girl’s ordeal began over five months ago when she left her home in Katni, Madhya Pradesh, for a trip after giving her class 10 exams. While waiting for a train at Katni railway station, some youths befriended her and took her to a nearby park, where they offered her food and drink. After consuming it, she became unconscious.
When she regained consciousness, she found herself in a hotel room in Ujjain with two men and a woman. They threatened her and forced her to marry a 27-year-old man, who told her that he had bought her for Rs 2 lakh. Tragically, the man died four months after their marriage after accidentally consuming pesticide, and his family members then sold the girl to another man in Kota districts Kanwas area on the pretext of marriage.
Unable to bear the physical exploitation and discovering that her second husband had bought her for Rs 3 lakh, the girl attempted suicide but was unsuccessful. She then fled from her in-laws’ house and reached a local railway station to board a train for Kota city.
The railway police personnel noticed the minor in a bad condition at Kota railway station on Monday morning and approached her. The girl narrated her ordeal, following which they informed the ChildLine and CWC. The minor’s parents were contacted, and they revealed that they had filed a missing complaint in a local police station after the girl did not return home. The parents and local police will reach Kota on Wednesday.
This tragic incident highlights the prevalence of human trafficking and child marriage in India, despite laws.
