Runaway minor held captive, gang-raped for 17 days: Ludhiana cops

16-year-old girl allegedly held captive and gang-raped by three accused in Ludhiana for 17 days. FIR lodged, accused on the run.

A runaway 16-year-old girl was allegedly held captive and gang-raped by three accused for at least 17 days in Ludhiana. The accused allegedly sexually assaulted the girl repeatedly on the pretext of helping her find a suitable job. Later, the accused dropped her near her house and fled.

The police lodged a first-information report (FIR) against the accused – identified as Sukhbir, Soni and Deepak–, following a statement by the girl’s mother. (HT File Photo)

The police lodged a first-information report (FIR) against the accused – identified as Sukhbir, Soni and Deepak–, following a statement by the girl’s mother. The accused are living near Dhandhari Railway Station.

The girl had fled from her house on April 8 after her parents scolded her for talking to a boy. The minor said she was sitting on a bench on a platform at Dhandhari Railway Station and thinking about returning home when accused Sukhbir approached her and started a conversation. The accused promised to help her in finding a job.

The accused told her that a minor girl was not safe alone on the railway platform and convinced her to come with him to his room near the railway station. The accused won her confidence, following which she accompanied him to his room, where his two aides, Soni and Deepak, were already present.

The 16-year-old added that she regretted her decision to go with him and tried to run, but the accused dragged her in the room and held her captive. She added that the accused gang-raped her and threatened her to keep mum about the ordeal.

She added that the ordeal continued for at least 17 days. She said that when she started opposing it strongly and threatened to raise an alarm, the accused dropped her near her house in Chander Nagar. After reaching home, she narrated the incident to her parents, who took her to the police station to lodge an FIR.

Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Sukhjinder Singh, who is investigating the case, said that an FIR under section 376 D of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has been lodged against the accused. A hunt is on for their arrest, he added.

He said that while the girl had left the house on April 8, the family had filed a missing complaint on April 16.

Sukhbir Singh is a resident of Mullanpur Dakha and married, and Soni and Deepak are migrants.