Mentally Challenged Woman Rescued In Uttar Pradesh, 2 Held

Almost six months after a mentally challenged woman was allegedly kidnapped, forcefully married off in Uttar Pradesh and raped, she has been rescued and two persons have been arrested, the police said yesterday.

The two accused -- Sanjay (29) and Phoolwati (55) -- were arrested yesterday from Najafgarh for their alleged involvement in the case.

The 25-year-old woman, who was undergoing treatment at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, had gone missing from west Delhi's Tilak Nagar on March 30.

Her father had approached police with a complaint on March 31.

The police got a lead after the woman managed to call her father on September 5 and told him that she had been held hostage in Aligarh but she does not know the exact address, the police said.

On tracking the mobile phone and analysing its call detail records, it was found that the woman was somewhere in Khedia Dhaukal village in the Atrauli tensil of Aligarh.

A police team was sent to the village and with inputs from its gram pradhan, a house was raided and the woman was rescued.

However, Sukhbir, who had confined the woman in his house and married her against her will, had left the house before the police raid.

The victim later told the police that she had met one Phoolwati on the night of March 30. Phoolwati convinced her to go with her and gave her something to smell that rendered her unconscious, the rescued woman told the police.

Phoolwati then handed over the victim to her former neighbour Sanjay in lieu of Rs. 30,000.

Sanjay then sold the kidnapped woman to Sukhbir, who hailed from the former's village, for Rs. 50,000. The woman was forcefully married off to Sukhbir who allegedly raped her repeatedly.

Police have also slapped rape charges on Sukhbir, who is on the run.