Three men held for kidnapping, raping minor

Three men have been arrested on the charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in south Delhi in May, police said on Friday.

 

Police said two accused Iddu Khan and Nizamuddin, who were neighbours of the girl, kidnapped her on May 10 and took her to Etah in Uttar Pradesh. Police had filed a missing person complaint after the girl's father approached it.

 

Police said Khan and the girl surrendered in a city court on Monday, following which it was revealed that they had married.

 

"Nizamuddin and Buddu Khan were witness to their 'nikah' on July 7 and had helped Khan in his crime. The girl was got medically examined and was found to be three weeks pregnant," Deputy Commissioner of Police Romil Baaniya said.

 

The girl refused to go with her parents and was lodged in a shelter home.

 

The accused were arrested outside the court and sent to judicial custody.

 

They have been booked under The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, Baaniya said.

 

The girl's father accused the police of shoddy investigation and said its prompt action could have prevented Khan from forcibly marrying his daughter.

 

He said police acted only when he approached the court, which ordered the police to raid the suspected hideouts of the accused- IANS