Human trafficking racket could be behind Meerut incident: VHP

Allahabad, Aug 5: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) today claimed that a human trafficking racket could be behind the incident of alleged gang rape and forcible conversion of a young woman in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut district and demanded action against madrassas found involved in such activities.

"Girls were gang-raped and converted and were being sent to Dubai... This is tantamount to illegal sex trade and human trafficking," VHP International Working President Pravin Togadia said in a statement here.

He demanded that cases be registered against "all the accused, including the travel agents, the airlines which gave tickets on fake names, officials who issued passports without verifying documents based on interviews and also airport authorities who may have looked the other way".

Togadia also claimed that VHP had set up a helpline number where similar complaints have been received from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and many other states.

In a complaint, the woman's father alleged that his daughter was abducted on July 23 and taken to a madrassa in Kharkhauda, where she was raped by the accused.

They also forcefully made her sign some papers related to religious conversion, he had alleged. The incident has sparked tension in the area.

PTI