Three, hailing from three states arrested; cops suspect bigger racket and want wider probe
Representation pic
A 12-year-old deaf-and-mute girl was abducted from the national capital and brought to Mumbai by a begging gang led by a 32-year-old transgender. The minor, who was forced to seek alms near Churchgate station, had also been raped.
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The night staffers of the Marine Drive police rescued the victim recently and arrested three, including two transgenders.
Each of the accused hails from different states: Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. The Marine Drive cops are finding out how they got together and reached Mumbai with the girl. “The incident is alarming,” said an officer privy to the investigation.
The trio has been arrested under Indian Penal Code Sections 363 and 363-A. The stringent POCSO Act has also been invoked against them. Representation pic
On learning, during the medical examination of the victim, that the minor had been raped, the investigating team added sections of the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The rapist is yet to be identified and arrested.
Delhi visit
Though the girl, who seems to be the child of a footpath dweller in Delhi, is unable to narrate her ordeal to the investigating team, the police have been working hard to reunite her with her parents. A Marine Drive police team visited New Delhi of late, but their endeavours have not yielded any results till now.
“A team of Marine Drive police was stationed near Wankhede stadium when a common citizen informed them that a girl was begging near Churchgate and she was being assaulted. The piece of information was sufficient for our team members to act swiftly,” said a senior officer of the Mumbai police, requesting anonymity.
Night of the incident
A team member said, “We reached the spot where the girl was found begging. She looked exhausted with bedraggled hair and untidy clothes. She had been stretching out her hands for food and alms in front of passengers near Churchgate station.”
“When we tried to speak to the girl, we realised that she was deaf and mute. A person standing nearby then started to speak on her behalf. When we asked how he was associated with her, he started to give us vague information, which was unsatisfactory. Soon, two transgenders came to bat for the girl and told us that they had adopted her. We brought all of them to the Marine Drive police station and presented them before our seniors,” said one of the policemen who acted swiftly on the tip-off.
The gang leader, Bharati alias Rakhi, 32, was accompanied by her associates Shivani alias Deepak Babulal Saini, 19, and Dev Sanjay Koli, 28, between Churchgate station and Wankhede stadium when Marine Drive police team received the tip-off about the minor girl.
The trio has been arrested under Sections 363 (kidnapping) and 363-A (kidnapping and maiming a minor for the purposes of begging) of the Indian Penal Code.
“Though we asked all the accused who had assaulted the child sexually, they are not revealing anything. We have added relevant of the POCSO Act to the FIR and efforts are on to nab the assailant,” said an officer privy to the investigation.
Another officer told mid-day that all the three accused belong to different states. “Bharati hails from Seelampur in Delhi. Shivani is from Agra district in Uttar Pradesh whereas Koli is from Panipat, Haryana,” said another officer.
“We are yet to find out how the three accused got together and were found in Mumbai with an abducted girl, who was raped by an unknown person. This indicates a big racket, but the facts will come out only if the accused, who are tight-lipped, spill the beans,” the officer said.
After extending medical assistance to the victim, she was sent to a childcare centre in the city.
“We visited Delhi and tried to search for her parents but we are yet to trace her parents,” said an officer.
Hundreds of children go missing every day in India, according to data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). In 2016, 2017 and 2018, a total of 63,407, 63,349 and 67,134 children respectively were reported as missing from different states in the country.
Begging mafia’s techniques
The begging mafia abducts children who are beaten mercilessly and healthy limbs are amputated or their eyes are gouged out. These are a few sure-fire techniques to increase one’s earning potential.
Besides kidnapping children and abducting infants from hospitals, the mafia’s henchmen keep an eye on children who flee their homes to avoid abusive parents and escape poverty and hunger. The begging gang lords, who are indirectly supported by political fraternities, rake in crores of rupees every month.
Abducted girls are forced into the flesh trade. Since the 12-year-old was sexually abused, the Marine Drive police team expanded their investigation wings to seek details if the trio is part of any inter-state sex trade.
3
No. of accused arrested
63,407
Missing kids reported in 2016
63,349
Missing kids reported in 2017
67,134
No. of kids who were reported as missing in 2018
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