Delhi girl, 13, rescued from 'marriage' to 42-year-old

NEW DELHI: A 13-year-old girl, living as the "wife" of a 42-year-old auto-rickshaw driver, was rescued by cops from Shiv Vihar near Ranhola in outer Delhi on Thursday. The accused, who had been married twice earlier, had "wed" the girl in Darbhanga, Bihar, last year and had since been living with her in Delhi.



DCP (outer) M N Tiwari said the accused had been arrested and charged under POCSO and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. The girl has been sent to an NGO for rehabilitation.

"Her father is dead and her mother suffers from mental illness. The mother didn't have the means to support the child after her husband's family evicted them from their house," a police officer said.

The mother and daughter were living in Darbhanga when the accused approached the family with the marriage proposal. His first wife had died and the second one had left him. "The family's neighbours convinced the mother that the man was earning well in Delhi and would keep her daughter happy.

The girl is too naive to understand what happened and was sent with the man to Delhi after a small ceremony in Bihar," the cops said.

The girl told the cops that she was married off to the man on February 27, 2017. To avoid revealing his relation with the girl, the accused showed her in front of neighbours as a relative's daughter from Bihar. He also started living with his other family members in Hari Nagar in west Delhi. There, the girl didn't wear any ornaments.

A week ago, the accused started living separately from the rest of his family and took the girl to a rented room in Shiv Vihar area in Ranhola. Narrating her ordeal after being rescued, the child told counsellors that she was repeatedly raped and beaten up by the man during the past year.

"The girl had injury marks indicating that she was beaten up. She said he would sexually assault her even if she was crying," an investigating officer shared. The girl wasn't allowed to go out alone or play with other kids, and was instead made to perform all chores, from cleaning the house to cooking for the family.

Lately, he had also asked the girl to wear ornaments such as bangles and put vermillion on her forehead like a married woman. One of the neighbours called the child helpline after hearing the girl's cries on consecutive nights. Following up on the call, a team led by SHO Ranhola Rajesh Kumar Singh visited the house the next day after the man had left for work.

They found the girl in the house, after some effort in winning her confidence, they took her into their custody. She was taken to a hospital where sexual assault was confirmed.

The cops then arrested the accused, who has since confessed to the crime. Realising that the girl's life might get in danger if she's sent to Bihar, cops registered the case in Ranhola, outer Delhi, instead of transferring it to Darbhanga through a zero FIR.

Senior police officers said that they were keeping a tab on the girl's condition and were in touch with other agencies to rehabilitate her.

Teams will also be sent to Darbhanga to speak to the girl’s family and ascertain the association of more people involved in the case.