A 17-year-old girl from Mulshi was saved from being dragged into the prostitution business on yesterday afternoon.
Acting on tip-off, officers of the Social Security Cell of Pune Crime Branch swung into action and caught the accused red-handed for luring the minor into the sex trade. The accused has been identified as Devendra Ramchandra Dongre (59), a resident of Uttam Nagar in Warje. His wife Savita is still absconding.
The rescued minor girl — who has studied till standard 7 — has been sent to the government-run rescue home at Nana Peth. The victim’s father and stepfather come from weak socio-economic backgrounds. The girl’s brother is mentally challenged and has been missing since many days. The victim has a younger sister who is 7-years-old.
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Copspeak
Police Inspector (SS Cell), Sanjay Nikam, said, “The victim’s mother had separated from her husband and married some other man. The victim was asked to leave her house by her father, and her stepfather too refused to take her in. The victim was in search of work and came in contact with a girl called Tina who was active in the prostitution racket.”
“A few days ago, Tina introduced the victim to Savita, who in turn offered her a job and her house to stay. The victim was told that she would be required to do some “bad job”. The victim agreed to this after which Devendra had planned to take her out for the first assignment on Thursday,” Nikam added.
Taking advantage of her difficult situation, the accused promised the girl a job and a place to live if she accepted an assignment. The minor was unaware of the nature of the job and was unknowingly being led into the prostitution racket by Devendra.
Quick action
“Police Constable Ganesh Jagtap received a tip-off related to this racket. He sent a decoy customer to Devendra who had demanded Rs 1,500 for this deal. Fortunately, we rescued the girl before she was subjected to any kind of sexual activity and violence,” Nikam said.
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