PALANPUR: A man and six others were arrested in Banaskantha district of Gujarat on Tuesday for allegedly trafficking his wife for Rs 50,000, after which she was reportedly raped and sexually assaulted, police said.According to news agency PTI, police said the crime came to light during the investigation into a missing person complaint filed by the husband earlier this month at the Palanpur West police station.Deputy superintendent of police Jignesh Gamit said the accused had approached police on May 11, claiming that his wife had gone missing from Palanpur city.“Within two days of the complaint, the husband himself went missing, following which his father filed another missing person complaint at the Palanpur East police station. This sequence of events raised suspicion during the investigation,” he said.Police later traced the husband and located his wife, whose formal statement allegedly revealed details of the crime.During the preliminary investigation, it was revealed that the husband had allegedly sold his wife to his friends for Rs 50,000.According to Gamit, the victim alleged that the accused persons repeatedly sexually assaulted and raped her, and also forcibly took her jewellery to sell to local jewellers.Based on the victim’s statement, police registered a case at the Palanpur West police station under sections related to rape, human trafficking, criminal conspiracy and other offences. Seven persons, including the husband, were subsequently arrested, officials said.The police also found that the main accused had previous criminal antecedents.“In the past, he has been involved in cases where he lured and abducted girls despite being married. The police are investigating those past offences as well,” the official said. (The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)(With agency inputs)
