AGRA: Special court of
POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act here on Saturday awarded life imprisonment to former
Agra
superintendent of state women’s protection house in the case of illegally releasing 43 women and eight children rescued from prostitution racket in Allahabad in 2017.
The sentenced was awarded by Anil Kumar, special judge (POCSO act). The court order read that Geeta Rakesh misused her powers and handed the women and children to dubious people who claimed that they were relatives of the inmates. There is high possibility that the women and children who were rescued from brothels of Allahabad may have again been pushed to prostitution.
Geeta was arrested by Itmad-ud-Daula police on June 1, 2017 based on a written complaint filed by Punit Kumar Mishra, deputy chief probation officer of directorate woman development.
In the complaint, Mishra had claimed that Geeta had disobeyed the order of SDM Sadar Allahabad Shyamlata Anand that clearly stated that the women and the children need to be kept in the protection house for the next two years. The order was sent to Geeta on May 19, 2017 send via WhatsApp, fax, email and speedpost, as the inmates’ protection order was going to expire a day after on May 20, 2017. Geeta, however, released the inmates without proper documentation and verification.
During inspection on May 30, 2017, the inmates of protection house were found missing.
Later, Geeta the resident of Friends Colony,
Etawah
and mother of one kid was booked under IPC section 370 (3) & (5) (offence involves the trafficking of more than one person), 370 (7) (public servant or a police officer is involved in the trafficking of any person), 363 (kidnapping), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and POCSO.
The court found her guilty and in its order stated that there were sufficient evidence against Geeta whose act have sent 43 women and eight children back to prostitution.
The released women and children are yet to be traced.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword. Spread love this holiday season with these Christmas wishes, messages, and quotes.Arvind Chauhan is an experienced journalist with a demonstrated h...
Read MoreArvind Chauhan is an experienced journalist with a demonstrated history of working in the newspapers industry as well as for the social media wing as digital content creator. He has covered subjects like railways, aviation, defence, energy, health, real estate, minority affairs, women and child development, crime, customs, telecom, district court, district administration, roads and infrastructure, armed forces tribunal, and regional politics across Uttar Pradesh. He began his career in Lucknow, and has done reporting in West Uttar Pradesh. He has won the Times Scribe Award four times including for busting fake news, and extensive coverage on Covid orphans. He graduated with a journalism degree from Times School of Journalism and BA (Honors) in English from Lucknow University.
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