POCSO invoked against accused ** Victim delivers to baby girl in Tura
Shillong, Oct 28: “Kidnapped” a year ago when she was a minor, a girl from Rajabala in West Garo Hills was rescued from Delhi and brought back to Tura where she has delivered a baby girl. The accused Atowar Hussain alias Rahul, also from Rajabala, was arrested and will be tried under POCSO Act.
West Garo Hills police launched search for the girl after the family lodged an FIR on October 20, 2024, accusing Atowar of kidnapping the girl, who was a minor at that time.
Superintendent of Police (SP) West Garo Hills, Abraham T Sangma, stated that the police had been trying to track the accused and the girl for the past year, but it was only recently that they received information about their whereabouts in Delhi.
“We sought the help of the Delhi police, and they helped us locate the girl in Delhi. We sent a team on Friday, and on Saturday, we were able to locate them and bring them back to Tura yesterday,” Sangma said.
Initially, a case of kidnapping was registered against the accused, but after the rescue, sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act will be included.
“Initially, we registered a case of kidnapping against the accused but after locating them we will be including the sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” the SP said while informing that the accused has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
Sources informed that girl had given birth to a baby girl at Tura Civil Hospital on Sunday morning.
A year later, the girl managed to contact her parents, pleading for help and stating that she was being kept somewhere in Delhi but did not know her exact location.
Distressed and desperate, her parents sought the help of pressure group ACHIK, which immediately took up the matter and coordinated with the Tura Women Police.
On October 21, a team from ACHIK, along with the girl’s relatives, travelled to Delhi to trace her whereabouts. After days of search, they confirmed that she was being held at Batla House, a locality in South Delhi. The information was relayed to Tura Women Police.
Subsequently, on October 24, a team from Tura Women Police, in collaboration with the Delhi Police and assisted by the Special Police Unit for the Northeastern Region (SPUNER), conducted a raid at Batla House. The operation led to the rescue of the girl and the arrest of the accused, Atowar Hussain.
Both the survivor and the accused were brought back to Tura on October 26, following which the young woman was admitted to Tura Civil Hospital, where she delivered a baby girl the next morning.
A senior lawyer and POCSO prosecutor from Garo Hills stated, “The case clearly falls under the POCSO Act since the girl was a minor when she was taken to Delhi. The accused will also face charges of kidnapping and human trafficking. It is very unfortunate that the victim had to bear a child at such a young age. Once paternity is established, the accused will face a long jail term.”
