Surat minor's rape-murder case: Cops add human trafficking sections

A minor, whose body was found here on April 6, and her mother may have been victims of human trafficking as the person who handed them over to the man accused of their killing had demanded Rs 35,000 for them, and as such relevant sections of the penal law have been added to the case, a senior police official said.

Surat Police Commissioner Satish Sharma said the accused, who was arrested from Sawai Madhopur district in Rajasthan on Friday, had confessed to having killed the girl and her mother.

The officer said the accused had told them that the woman, whose body was found in Sachin area here a few days before that of the minor girl in Pandesara locality, was the latter's mother.

"The man who handed over both the mother and daughter to Harsh Sahay Gurjar demanded Rs 35,000 for them. We are investigating a possible human trafficking angle and sections related to it have been added in the case," said Satish Sharma, Surat Police Commissioner.

The official said the girl was an eye-witness to the killing of her mother by Gurjar.

"The woman was brought to Surat after Diwali last year. She was killed as she wanted to stay with the accused but the latter opposed it as he was already married," Sharma said, adding at least six to seven more people were involved in the crime and a police team is in Rajasthan following leads on them.

Another police team is questioning suspects in Surat itself, the police commissioner said.

Gurjar was arrested from Ganganagar in Sawai Madhopur district in neighbouring Rajasthan on Friday after police zeroed in on him while investigating the antecedents of a black car, allegedly used to dump the bodies of the two victims.

The car came to the notice of the police while investigators were scouring CCTV images of Pandesara area.

Sharma said that more CCTVs would be installed in the city as they had played a vital role in cracking this case.

"This case appeared to be a blind one as both victims were unidentified. We are working towards setting up more CCTVs in the city, especially in areas where migrant labourers stay," Sharma said.

He said that 60 CCTV cameras would be installed in Pandesara locality, where the body of the minor girl was found, and police patrolling in the area would be intensified.