Juvenile sells teenage girlfriend for Rs 40k: Bengal cops nab pimps, Mehran, Zaidul

When the mother of the girl realised that her daughter had gone missing, they immediately reached out to the police. The police in a swift action tracked the girl

New Delhi, Feb 08: In a shocking incident reported from Kolkata, a teenage boy sold his teenage girlfriend into prostitution for Rs 40,000. She was sold off to a person in the Sonagachi area.

The girl was rescued after the mother filed a missing complaint following which the police launched a search operation and rescued her. According to reports the girl is from the Sundarbans area in South 24 Parganas district and she had met the boy on Facebook. After trapping her, the boy convinced her to go to Kolkata with him on the pretext of marriage.

The mother filed a complaint with the Dholahat police after the girl went missing. The police launched a search operation and traced the girl to Dharmatalla in Kolkata. Based on the information provided by the girl, three persons were nabbed including the juvenile who trapped her. A man named Zaidul Shaikh who purchased the girl and a commercial sex worker, Mehrana Khatoon alias Tanya who facilitated the deal have also been arrested.

SDPO Biswajit Naskar said that after bringing the girl to Kolkata on the pretext of marriage, the boy sold her to Zaidul Shaikh in a hotel for Rs 40,000. She told the police that she was raped in a hotel at Ballyganj and in the Arambagh hotel where she was sold. Mehrana Khatoon was involved in the deal to sell the girl and she facilitated the same. Zaidul was in the process of placing the girl for prostitution in the Sonagachi red-light area.

Zaidul and Mehrana have been arrested by the police, while the boy was detained under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act. A case has been registered by the police under the provisions in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for kidnapping and relevant charges under the POSCO Act.

The two arrested adults have been produced before a court in Kakdwip on Tuesday. Further investigation is on.

What is the Juvenile Justice Act:

The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act is a law in India which government the treatment of juveniles who are in conflict with the law. The act provides for rehabilitation of juveniles. The act defines a juvenile as a child who is below the age of 18. Under this those who are 18 and below cannot be tried in the normal courts and lodged in jails. They are taken to remand homes and lodged there. The Act is regularly reviewed to ensure that it stays in line with the international human rights standards and the evolving need of juveniles.