A 13-year-old girl from Bharat Nagar in northwest Delhi, who had left home after a dispute with her father, was rescued nearly a month later after being trafficked and forcibly married in Uttar Pradesh.

The girl boarded a train that took her to Meerut, where two men lured her with false promises and took her to Shamli. There, she was illegally married to a 40-year-old man on July 24, with a fake Aadhaar card showing her age as 19. The marriage reportedly took place in exchange for Rs 15,000-20,000 thousand. Four days later, she was allegedly sexually assaulted by the man.

ALSO READ: Zomato Delivery Man Battles Heavy Mumbai Rains, Wins Hearts For His Unstoppable Spirit In Viral Post

Her rescue became possible after she managed to give a missed call to her grandmother. Police traced her location to Shamli and found her in a house.

"While we were searching for the girl, her family informed us that they had received a missed call from an unknown number. When they called back, a woman answered and said her daughter-in-law might have made the call, then abruptly disconnected it,” police said, according to the TOI report. 

Investigations revealed that she had left home on her own, taken a bus to a railway station, and boarded a train to Meerut. At the station, she met a 20-year-old man from Hapur and his 55-year-old associate from Meerut, who trapped her and arranged the illegal marriage.

Police had received a missing complaint on July 22. Efforts to trace her initially failed due to an incorrect phone number provided by the family. Once the correct number was obtained, her location was tracked.

Three men, the two who trafficked her and the one she was forced to marry, have been arrested under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including kidnapping, human trafficking, exploitation, and forgery. Additionally, provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, have been invoked.

ALSO READ: Rajasthan: Man Found Stuffed In Blue Drum In Tijara; Missing Wife And Kids Spark Fears Of Another Meerut-Style Murder

Police are investigating whether other minor girls from vulnerable backgrounds were similarly trafficked and married off. The case is being handled by a team from Bharat Nagar police station, with further investigation underway, said DCP (northwest) Bhisham Singh.