Deserted By Mother, Minor Girl Sold Twice & Raped For Years

A 17-year-old girl from Gujarat, sold twice by her father and maternal uncle for marriage, was rescued by women’s helpline Abhayam team four to five days ago, a report stated on Thursday (June 24).

As per reports, the minor girl was abandoned by her mother when she was a kid. When she turned 13, her father sold her off to a man for Rs 60,000 in the garb of marriage. The man repeatedly raped her till her maternal uncle retrieved her from his place. What is even more shocking is that a year later, her uncle too sold her to another man, reportedly under the pretext of marriage. She was 14 years old then. She lived there for around three years. During the period, she was repeatedly sexually assaulted.

Last week, the teenager managed to dial the Abhayam women’s helpline in Palanpur. Subsequently, an Abhayam team rescued her and brought her to the house of her paternal uncle in Dantiwada. On Wednesday, she shifted to a shelter home in Palanpur, according to a report by The Times of India.

“The girl was brought from Dantiwada on Wednesday to Palanpur and is being given shelter in the Nari Sanrakshan Kendra… I have written a letter to the police as well as other agencies to look into the matter. This is a crime not just against the girl but humanity at large. Her father and uncle, besides all those connected with the trafficking, should be given a deserving punishment,” the report quoted Aniket Thakar, CWC chairman, as saying.