Bhubaneswar: Five minor tribal girls from Odisha who were trafficked to Hyderabad have been rescued and the prime accused arrested, police said on Wednesday.
The girls belong to economically disadvantaged Kandha and Saura communities and had dropped out of school. The case came to light after a sarpanch lodged a complaint at Adava police station in Gajapati district on August 17, alleging that several girls from the area had been trafficked.
Acting on the complaint, police launched an investigation led by R Udayagiri SDPO Rakesh Kumar Sahoo. During the probe, police received credible inputs about movement of the victims to Hyderabad and conducted searches at multiple locations in the city, rescuing all five girls. Investigation revealed that the Aadhaar details of the girls were allegedly manipulated to show them as adults to facilitate trafficking, police said.
Prime accused Rajkumar Bastray has been arrested. “Further investigation is underway to identify other persons involved in the trafficking network, trace and rescue other possible victims, and apprehend all remaining accused persons,” Sahoo said.
“The health, safety and education of these minor girls are now our top priority. We are committed to ensuring their proper rehabilitation and restoration of their rights,” he added.
