Vijayawada: The step-brother of a 13-year-old girl allegedly sold her off to a gang operating a prostitution racket at Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh on July 18.
The incident came to the light on Tuesday after the minor girl managed to alert the police by dialling up 100.
According to the reports, the step-brother and his wife took her to Singarayakonda where she was sold off for Rs 27,000 to the prostitution racket, on July 12.
Police immediately plunged into action by tracing her location with the help of the call, and rescued the minor by conducting an undercover operation. According to the police, the minor was born through the second marriage of her father and was staying at her step-brother’s house in Nellore district’s Kavali to avoid their parents’ fight over several issues.
The incident has left her in a state of shock. Police have recorded her statement, according to a report by The Times of India.
An offence under relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act has been registered at Kandukur Police Station. Police have arrested the owner of the house from where the prostitution racket was being run. The minor’s step-brother and his wife are yet to be arrested.
In another similar incident, an alcohol addicted father allegedly sold off his 11-year-old girl to a 33-year-old man for just Rs 50,000 in Madhya Pradesh’s Chhatarpur district. However, the man, who bought her, sent her back because she was crying too much.
