Woman at large for 8 years held for abduction, rape of 15-year-old girl in Delhi

New Delhi: A 28-year-old woman involved in the abduction, rape, and forced marriage of a girl in Delhi has been arrested after being on the run for nearly eight years, an official said on Thursday.

The woman was part of a group, which included her husband Kishan Pal and an accomplice Dinesh. They abducted the 15-year-old girl from her home in Bharatlal, Delhi, on November 1, 2017, he said.

The woman was declared a proclaimed offender by a Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Dwarka in July 2019, he added.

She was arrested on Wednesday from her native village in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh. “The case was filed on November 2, 2017, based on a complaint lodged by the minor's father who reported her missing the previous day,” a senior police officer said.

The girl was later confined in a village in Uttar Pradesh, sexually assaulted, and forcibly married off. A case was registered at Dwarka Sector-23 police station under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.

While, Kishan and Dinesh, were arrested during the initial investigation, the woman remained at large and was later declared a fugitive by the court.

On May 7, based on a tip-off, a team from the Crime Branch raided the woman’s village where she tried to flee into nearby fields but was caught after a brief chase, he said.

“During interrogation, she admitted to her role in the abduction, illegal confinement, and forced marriage of the minor,” the officer said.

The accused was produced in court and sent to judicial custody. Police said she is illiterate and hails from Junavi village in Budaun. She had married Kishan Pal in 2015 and had been living under a false identity since the case was registered.