Gujarat: Woman 'sold' & forced into marriage

Thane (Maharashtra): Four persons have been arrested from Gujarat for allegedly selling a 30-year-old Thane-based woman and forcing her to marry one of them, police said on Monday. Of the four accused arrested on Sunday, two are women, Assistant Police Inspector P P Choudhari of Ulhasnagar police station said adding that police were on the lookout for two others in this connection. The victim, who resides in Camp no 2 of Thane, was taken to Unja of Mehsana district in Gujarat and sold for Rs 1.18 lakh and the buyer later got her married to another man, who was held on the charge of repeatedly raping her, from the same place, he said. According to police, on July 16, 2016, accused Ranjana Patil, had called the victim to Ulhasnagar police station under the pretext of giving her a job. She then took the victim to Andheri and gave her a spiked drink and took her to Gujarat, where Patil sold her to her uncle. "There, with the help of another accused Ramila Popatlal Patel, the victim was sold to one Jitubai Hasmukhlal Daarji," the complaint said. "There, one advocate Pujaji talaji Thakur, fabricated documents and forcibly got the victim married to Jitbai Daarji, who repeatedly raped the victim," the complaint added. The victim said in her complaint that the offence took place between July 16 and August 06, 2016. The police said that four accused except Ranjana Patil and her uncle, have been arrested in this connection. They have been booked under various IPC sections and further investigation is on.