Police here have rescued a 16-year-old girl from the city's infamous red-light area of Sonagachi within an hour of receiving a distress call that she had been "sold" to a person after running away from home with her "lover", an officer said on Saturday.
The native of North 24 Parganas was rescued from a room in the Sonagachi area following a call to the police helpline and an email to the child helpline while Shafiqul Molla (20) and Saharul Laskar (39) were arrested, the officer said.
"After receiving the information, a team of the Barabazar police station immediately began a search in the Sonagachi area. The girl was rescued within an hour," a senior police officer said.
The girl told police that she had left her home with Shafiqul Molla, with whom she was in a relationship, and came to Kolkata. She was subsequently sold her to Saharul Laskar in Sonagachi, the victim told police.
Police contacted the person who had made the distress call and subsequently confirmed the identity of the rescued girl.
"Saharul Laskar is a resident of Durga Charan Mitra Street, while Shafiqul Molla is from Garulia in Shyamnagar in North 24 Parganas. Both the accused have been questioned. We are also examining whether any other persons were involved," the officer said.
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
