Girl freed from illegal confinement in HP

Satinder Pal Singh

Dera Bassi, October 14

A 19-year-old girl, who was illegally confined to a room by her college mate and his father for about over a month in Tandi village, Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh, was rescued by the police yesterday.

The police arrested the girl’s college mate, Raman Bharti, and produced him before the Judicial Magistrate, Dera Bassi. He was remanded in judicial custody.

The Mubarikpur police also recorded the victim’s statement, after which she was handed over to her kin. The girl, in her statement to the police, denied being sexually abused by the accused or anyone else, said the police.

Bhinder Singh Khangura, in charge of Mubarikpur police post, said the 19-year-old girl had allegedly been taken along by Raman, a resident of Tandi village, in August. It was found during interrogation that the accused had promised the girl to marry her, but could not as he has not reached the marriageable age of 21. He reportedly did not marry her and kept her at his residence, added Bhinder. 

The incident came to light when the victim’s mother, a resident of Bhankarpur village near Dera Bassi, on Thursday lodged a complaint against Raman and his father with the police, accusing them of keeping her daughter in illegal confinement for the past one month on the pretext of marriage.

The girl had made a WhatsApp call to her mother a week ago, narrating her ordeal.

A police team, comprising a woman officer, raided the house at Tandi village on Saturday and rescued the girl. 

Further investigation into the  case in on.