Nagpur: The Special Judge for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, R P Pande in Nagpur on Wednesday awarded 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI) to two women — Bindo Ganesh Patil alias Bindo Kalkhor and Shero Boralal Kesiya — for kidnapping a minor girl from Madhya Pradesh and pushing her into prostitution in Nagpur’s red light area – Ganga Jamuna.
According to the prosecution, Bindo (45), who is a native of Bedanapur, Motijheel, Gwalior, MP, and Shero (40), a resident of House No 730, Ganga Jamuna, in connivance with other accused — Savitri Uchiya, Ranjit Uchiya, Shyam Babu Kalkhor, Renu Ramkumar Kalkhor (all absconding), Asha Babu Kalkhor, Laila Babu Kalkhor, and Babli Babu Kalkhor — had kidnapped the girl from Bhopal railway station six years ago when she was 13 years old.
The accused, Savitri and Ranjit Uchiya then took her to Gwalior. They then brought the girl to Nagpur and dragged her into flesh trade at the city’s notorious red light area — Ganga Jamuna. Some alert volunteers of Freedom Firm (an anti-sex trafficking NGO in India that is working to rescue minor girls sold into the commercial sex trade, restore their identities, and seek justice against those who were involved in their sexual exploitation) informed police that the accused persons running the sex racket had pushed the minor girl into prostitution at a brothel in the red light area.
On the basis of the information, Lakadganj Police on July 29, 2016 sent a decoy customer to the brothel at the two-storey building situated in front of Hanuman Mandir in Ganga Jamuna. When the accused women provided him with the minor girl after taking Rs 500, he signalled the police party standing nearby. Soon, cops raided the brothel and rescued the girl.
Lakadganj Police registered a case under Sections 366-A, 344, 370-A, 373, 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), read with Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and 4, 8, 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, against the accused persons.
Police investigated the case and filed a chargesheet against Bindo Kalkhor, Shero Kesiya, Asha Babu Kalkhor, Laila Babu Kalkhor, and Babli Babu Kalkhor in the court. As the charges were substantiated against Bindo and Shero, the court sentenced them to 20 years’ RI with a fine of Rs 20,000 for the offence under Section 4 of the POCSO Act. For the offence under Section 366-A and 34 of the IPC, the court awarded them five years’ RI with a fine of Rs 7,000 each. For the offence under Sections 344 and 34 of the IPC, the court sentenced Bindo and Shero to three years’ RI with a fine of Rs 5,000 each.
The court also sentenced them to one year RI with a fine of Rs 1,000 each for the offences under Sections 3 and 4 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. Under Sections 6 and 9 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, the court also awarded seven years’ RI with a fine of Rs 5,000 each to Bindo and Shero. All the substantive sentences would run concurrently. The court acquitted Asha Babu Kalkhor, Laila Babu Kalkhor, and Babli Babu Kalkhor as the charges could not be substantiated against them.
The court directed the Police Station Officer (Lakadganj) to file a separate chargesheet against the absconding accused persons. Additional Public Prosecutor Adv Aasawari Palsodkar represented the State. Adv D VPatrikar and Adv S V Uchiya were the defence counsels.
