Two get life term for trafficking minor girl

A city court Friday sentenced two persons to life imprisonment for trafficking a minor girl to Uttar Pradesh and forcing her to perform obscene dance in an orchestra.

Additional district and sessions judge Lilamoy Mondal awarded the maximum sentence for the crime to two persons - one of whom trafficked her to Uttar Pradesh and the other who bought her and forced her to perform in the orchestra.

The charge of trafficking a minor girl results in a prison term of 10 years to life imprisonment and fine.

The judge sentenced Rahul Ghosh and Suresh Gupta to life imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 10,000 on each, which if not paid will lead to another six months in jail for each of the two.

The girl, who resided on the footpath at Shyambazar area in North Kolkata with her family, was offered to work in Uttar Pradesh by Ghosh.

Taking advantage of her family's poverty, Ghosh got her to board a train to their destination, but suspecting something amiss, she tried to get off and return.

She was, however, forced to go to Ramchandrapur, Deoria Sadar in Uttar Pradesh by Ghosh, who then sold her off to Gupta, owner of a dance bar there.

The parents of the girl had filed a missing complaint at the Ultadanga police station in Kolkata.

On receiving the information from a social worker that she was in the clutches of Gupta, the girl's parents went to Deoria Sadar to bring her back, but the orchestra owner threatened them at gun point.

Police went to Deoria Sadar and rescued her on September 22, 2014, and arrested both the accus