In a disturbing incident, two individuals are now under police investigation for their alleged involvement in the abduction of a 13-year-old girl. The case, reported in the Bilsanda police jurisdiction, reveals a tragic tale of a minor being forcibly taken from her home.
The mother of the victim, residing in a village within the Bilsanda police jurisdiction, disclosed that her husband had passed away a few months ago. The harrowing events began on January 8th, when two neighboring girls invited the unsuspecting 13-year-old to their home. Subsequently, one Masoom Khan (s/o Hafiz Khan) who owns a brick kiln and is considered influential in the village connected the mother to her daughter over phone.
The mother suspects that Khan and his family orchestrated the abduction of her minor daughter, a Class 7 student, and are not sharing any more information after arranging that one call with her daughter.
She has alleged that the accused and his family have a history of criminal behavior, causing unrest in the village. Inspector Ajay Kumar confirmed that an official report has been filed and an investigation is ‘underway’.
Worryingly, two minor sisters had gone missing in Sept ’22 from the same Bislanda police station area. They could not be recovered by police even 6 days after their abduction, as per a Hindustan report filed at the time, which added that the father of the girls had named Monish, son of Shahid, as the prime suspect. The question naturally arises – is there a human trafficking ring running in Bislanda area of Pilibhit? Islamists are known to be heavily involved in such organized criminal activity.
The 38-year-old woman sent a letter on January 18 to the President of Bharat, Droupadi Murmu, “seeking permission for euthanasia” after police had failed to rescue her minor daughter even after the FIR was registered on January 11 under IPC sections 363 (kidnapping a person from lawful guardianship) and 366 (kidnapping a woman to compel marriage). In the letter, the woman expressed her apprehension of her daughter “being murdered or trafficked by the accused”. The woman also sent complaints to the National Commission for Women and the state director general of police. She also warned of “holding a fast unto death outside the office of Pilibhit’s SP”.
Notably, her husband, Wasi Khan, had died allegedly in police custody on October 27, 2023, after he was arrested from his home for theft a day earlier.
Despite the much improved law & order situation in UP after the advent of Yogi Adityanath as CM, the structural deficiencies in our police forces across the country are a cause for alarm. Ever so often, we hear of cases where local police fails to act promptly when a crime is committed and starts performing its basic duty only when victims create pressure through higher authorities and media. Police being in cahoots with local criminals and influential elements is another complaint often cited by ordinary citizens. Finally, shoddy investigation and non-compliance with due process weakens several cases at the trial stage, allowing criminals to get off easily.
The reform and modernization of our police establishment to mould them as protectors of Dharma, rather than the colonial ‘mai-baap’ politicized mindset that currently pervades many police units is urgently needed, along with an overhaul of judiciary as well.
