[1]Police in Rajasthan have stepped in to rescue two girls, a toddler and a 12-year-old, who had been sold by their fathers, officials said on Tuesday.
While Lala, alias Sohrab, from a village in Udaipur was caught on Sunday evening on charges of selling his one-and-a-half year old daughter for Rs.25,000, Mangilal was nabbed in Bikaner for allegedly buying a 12-year-old girl for Rs.500.
According to police, Lala, a resident of Kandara village in Udaipur, about 375 km from here, was arrested on a tip-off from Madhya Pradesh police.
"The police there had raided a village in Jetpura tibal area during a flesh trade investigation and arrested a Vajid Ali, who told them he had bought the girl for Rs.25,000," an official said.
In Bikaner, a 12-year-old girl was rescued by police after she was allegedly sold to a man by her father for Rs.500. Police have arrested the buyer, Mangilal, and handed her to child shelter where she will also be given counselling.
According to police, the girl is the daughter of a beggar in Srikolayat area of the district, about 280 km from here.
"We were tipped off by some residents in Srikolayat who saw her crying," a police official told IANS.
He added that a police team was immediately rushed there and took custody of the girl.
"The man tried to escape, but we arrested him," said the officer.
During interrogation, Mangilal told police that he had bought the girl from her father for Rs.500. "Mangilal had promised her father that he would pay him Rs.500 per month. We are interrogating Manglilal to know why he had bought the girl. The possibility that the man either runs a beggars' gang or is a member of a prostitution racket is not being ruled out," the official said.
"The girl is in a state of shock," he added.
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