Adivasi woman trafficked from Jharkhand as minor, assaulted & beaten up in employer’s home

A 20-year-old Adivasi woman from Jharkhand, who was trafficked at the age of 14 and recently rescued from a residential building in Greater Noida, told The Hindu that her employer “raped her for three days and then forced her to ingest a pill while his wife was away”. She said she was routinely subjected to harassment, slurs, and assault by the couple.

The police, however, have registered a case against the couple at the Beta II police station in Greater Noida under sections pertaining only to assault or criminal force with the intent of outraging her modesty, voluntarily causing hurt, and trafficking under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A senior police officer told The Hindu that no evidence of violations of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was found prima facie. However, the officer did not immediately specify why rape sections were not included. “Further investigation is under way,” the officer said.