Missing teen traced, alleges being molested by father

A 16-year-old girl, who went missing from her Kharghar home early this week, was traced by the Kharghar police to Pune. The girl has now revealed that she ran away from the house as her father, a cab driver, molested her. The police have now sent the girl to a children’s home and are investigating the matter.

According to police, the girl has recently finished her class 10 and stays with her parents and two sisters. Her father works as a cab driver and her mother is house help.

The girl, on Tuesday morning, stepped out to buy chocolates and did not return. Around 2pm, her mother, 37, inquired with her daughter’s school friends, but no one had heard from her.

The girl’s father, 48, was in Pune at the time. He returned to the city by Tuesday evening.

The crime branch’s anti human trafficking unit (AHTU) officials came across the girl’s missing poster on social media and started a probe, to help trace her.

“We traced her location in Pune on Wednesday after which we brought her back. She has claimed that she ran away as her father molested her. We are inquiring with him and also trying to verify if his other daughters have the same complaint,” said an officer from the crime branch.

Since the girl has alleged molestation, she was not handed over to her parents and sent to a children’s home. She will appear before the child welfare committee following which, a further course of action will be decided, said an officer. Molestation complaint is not registered yet.

In the last ten days, the AHTU solved five cases, where missing persons including minors have been traced from across Maharashtra.