"The girl said her father had died and her mother was unable to take care of her and even provide one meal a day. This forced her mother to hand her over to an agent who seems to have sold her to the Mumbai couple," informed Dr. Abraham Mathai. Vakola police have booked the couple under the Child Labour Act and Juvenile Justice Act and issued a notice to appear before the police and to cooperate with the probe.

The labour officer stated, "Trafficking of minors has become a big racket as the perpetrators save money by paying a pittance to the families." The news agency also reported that under the Child Labour Act, section 3 (prohibition of employment of children in certain occupations and section 4 (employing a child or permitting a child to work in contravention of the provisions of Section 3), the accused, if found guilty, are liable to be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than three months and extending up to one year or with fine ranging from Rs 10,000- Rs 20,000 or with both.

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.86%

AAP 41.43%

INC 25.71%

Submit

View All In Poll

Also Read: Mumbai: Neighbour aunty abducts teenager, keeps him as sex slave

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

The article has been sourced from third-party source and Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. All information provided on this article is for informational purposes only.