In what seemed like a serious case of human trading, police have held Lachharam Kriparam Chaudhary, 35 years old man for marrying a minor and sexually harassing her. This case came to light on Saturday night, when a teenager who has been shown to be 20 on paper sneaked her way to a police chowky in Nallasopara all by herself, shaken that she had to report the man who had been sexually and physically attacking her ever since their September "marriage", a bond forged after she was sold to him for Rs 6.3 lakh. Shanti, the stepmother, had traded her stepchild within Rajasthan twice earlier, for Rs 50,000 the first time and then for Rs 5.80 lakh.

So when Chaudhary offered Rs 6.3 lakh for her, she had little cause to hesitate. The girl's father remarried after her mother died and a couple of years ago her father also passed away. The girl, meanwhile, was sent for medical examination, which has established that she is 14. "Reports from JJ Hospital have confirmed that the minor's age is 14 years. We have arrested her husband and booked him for rape under various provisions of the law," said the police. The police added, "We'll be sending a team to nab the minor's stepmother and parents of the accused".