13-Year-Old Sold to Hotel Owner and Sexually Assaulted in Sri Ganganagar

Overview

• The police FIR, reported on June 28, says a 13-year-old girl who went missing was allegedly sold by a rickshaw puller to a hotel owner and then moved between hotels where she was repeatedly sexually assaulted.
• The survivor told investigators she was forced to drink alcohol when she felt pain during the assaults, which she says took place over multiple days at local hotels.
• Investigators have arrested several hotel owners and managers in connection with the case and are conducting a wider probe, but accounts differ on the number of accused attackers reported in the FIR.
• Local outrage has grown into sustained protests led by the district Congress, whose leaders demand swift punishment for the accused, suspension of police officials, and closure of implicated hotels.
• Sri Ganganagar reportedly has more than 150 unlicensed hotels, and officials and traders now face pressure to tighten regulation because activists say such establishments enabled the trafficking and exploitation.