Ranchi, March 28: Dreams of marital bliss soon turned into a hair-breadth escape from a nightmare after 13-year-old Jimli Tirkey (name changes) realised that she was about to be sold to a dance bar in Goa, where she was to be taken for her “honeymoon”.
Tirkey, a resident of Mandar block under Chano police station, was rescued today when her “husband” was trying to take her to Goa.
Sources said Tirkey was sold by her stepmother to one 42-year-old Pahal Singh from Sharanpur in Uttar Pradesh on March 26 for a paltry sum of Rs 1,500.
However, a prompt action from police and a four-member team of the city-based NGO, Action Against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation Against Children, saved the teenager’s life.
The organisation, which brought Tirkey to the rehabilitation centre at Kishori Niketan, will submit a report to its chairman and also the additional director-general of police, R.C. Kaithal, for future course of action. The social welfare department will provide a rehabilitation package for the rescued girl.
Talking to The Telegraph, Tirkey said: “My stepmother, Hirmani Devi, forced me into the marriage. I was asked to reach the temple. I have four brothers but they were out for work and only came to know about the incident after I was rescued.”
“This man was talking about Goa soon after our marriage. But when we were about to leave, a police team stopped us midway and arrested him,” she said.
When asked, officer-in-charge of Chano police station K.K. Singh said: “When I reached the spot, the rescued girl’s brothers were beating the culprit blue and black. I immediately intervened and came to know of the situation. An FIR has been lodged at the police station.”
The case of fake marriages is on the rise in Jharkhand and according to the report of the organisation, there are about 22 such minor girls from the state, who are working in dance bars in Goa and Mumbai.
The “prospective” grooms come from places like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana. The main pockets of fake marriages in state are Pakur, Ormanjhi, Mandar and Dumka. The parents of these minor girls are lured by middlemen and sold at prices ranging from Rs 1,500 to Rs 10,000 because of abject poverty.
