Palghar: Married woman kidnapped, sold by social media friend; rescued

Palghar: A 23-year-old married woman from Maharashtra's Palghar district, allegedly kidnapped and married off to another man in Rajasthan for Rs 2 lakh, has been rescued, police said on Friday.

One person has been arrested in the case while police were on the lookout for four others, said an official of the Arnala Sagari police station. One of the accused befriended the woman on Instagram some time ago and promised to get her a job with the police department, the official said. He allegedly took her to Rajasthan and married her off to another person for Rs 2 lakh.

Similar case reported in July 2021

A 27-year- old woman was raped by three persons including a father and a son for many days and was later sold to a person for Rs 60,000. However, when she realised that she was sold and being forced to marry, she escaped from wedding ‘mandap’.

This bizarre incident took place in Ratibad police station area of Bhopal on Tuesday evening. The police have registered a case of rape and fraud against three persons.

The woman, a resident of Agra in Uttar Pradesh, was married to a man, a resident under Bajaria police station area of Bhopal, seven years ago. As it was a love marriage, her in-laws ousted her and her husband from home. The duo lived in a rented house in the same locality. The couple has a six-year-old son.

According to sources, woman’s husband was arrested on charges of rape and sent to jail a month back. Thereafter, her in-laws took custody of her son and forced her to leave the locality. The woman took a rented house in Chholda Mandir locality.

In her statement to police, the woman said she met Ravi who promised to help her. Ravi was ready to bear all expenses and took her to his house. The woman told the police that Ravi raped her on many occasions. Later, his father Ramesh also raped her, threatening he would defame her if she revealed it to anyone. The duo later sold her to a man in Vidisha district for Rs 60,000 and forced her to get married. Brother-in-law of Ravi, Lokelsh helped the duo to sell her.