13-Year-Old Girl Who Went Missing from Ranchi Rescued in Lucknow, 2 Arrested

Ranchi: A 13-year-old girl from Ranchi who went missing last month was rescued from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, police said on Monday.

Two persons were arrested after a case was lodged at the Tamar police station on Sunday, they said.

The girl's family said she did not return from school on August 16, following which they lodged a missing person's complaint.

The girl told the investigators that she was taken to the Bundu bus stand on August 16 by a youth and later she was taken to Patna by another youth, said Roshan Kumar, the in charge of Tamar police station.

"The other person left her in a truck in Patna and fled. The truck driver allegedly raped her and dumped her in Lucknow," he said quoting the girl's statement.

"We have arrested two persons on the basis of the FIR lodged on Sunday. There are several missing links in her statement. We are trying to connect them through various means," he said.

The case was filed under sections related to rape and human trafficking, besides the POCSO Act, he added.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Rati Bhan Singh told PTI, "We have initiated an investigation and are verifying the claims made by the victim in the FIR." Child rights activist Baidyanath Kumar, who has been following the case after the registration of the missing person's complaint, claimed that the girl was sold to a truck driver in Patna.

"The girl was found on August 20 in Lucknow by the local police. They, then, handed her over to Rajkiya Balika Griha in Lucknow without registering any FIR," he claimed.

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