Woman missing for 9 years rescued from brothel

A 21-year-old woman, who went missing nine years ago, was rescued from Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district on Wednesday, police said.

A raid was conducted at a house in a red-light area of Maruadih town and the woman was rescued. Two men and half-a-dozen women have been detained, the police said.

The Varanasi crime branch and the local police jointly conducted the raid and freed the woman, who had gone missing at the age of 12 from her house in Chandauli district, a police officer said.

At that time, the woman had went outside to play with her friends and did not return. Her family members searched the girl for several years but could not trace her, the officer said.

Few days ago, someone informed the parents that their daughter was trapped the red-light area in Maruadih. The parents sent one of their relatives to the area posing as a customer to confirm whether the girl was their daughter or not, he said.

The relative met the girl, clicked her photograph and made a video, following which the parents wrote a letter to the Varanasi police and provided the proof, he added.