Chargesheet filed against 6 in sexual exploitation case

Chandigarh, April 4

The UT police have filed a chargesheet against six persons in a case of alleged exploitation of a teenager, who was allegedly pushed into prostitution.

The suspects are Chanchal Chauhan , Poonam Jain, Suman, Ravinder Singh, Sumitra and Raj Rani.

The police had registered a case for offences under Sections 363 (kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc), 376 -3 (rape) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC, Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 4 and 5 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act at the Mani Majra police station on a complaint of the victim in February this year.

The girl was earlier allegedly raped by a rape accused last year, who was let out on special parole owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After registering a case against the suspects, the teenager was handed over to Child Helpline. On counselling, she allegedly disclosed that her neighbor, Chanchal, used to take her to many persons who used to sexually assault her.

The police alleged that the teenager was sexually exploited for more than a year before she was rescued in November last year. The suspects allegedly exploited the 15-year-old girl as she was poor and neglected by her family after her father’s second marriage.

All suspects are presently in judicial custody. The court had rejected their bail applications. The court has fixed April 12 as the next hearing in the case.