Bhubaneswar: A shocking case of human trafficking has come to light in the capital, where agents have been luring young girls under the guise of providing jobs and forcing them into the flesh trade. The Kharavela Nagar police rescued a minor girl from a hotel in Unit-4 and arrested the main accused involved in the racket.
According to police sources, the accused, identified as Mahendra Patra of Masjid Colony in Unit-3, had contacted the victim, a minor from Kankadahad area of Dhenkanal, and promised her employment in Bhubaneswar. The girl, who had been working in Cuttack for the past few months and was currently staying with a relative in Baramunda, had been searching for a job when she fell prey to the accused’s trap.
On Wednesday, Mahendra allegedly took the girl to a hotel in the Unit-4 area, claiming it was for an interview. Later in the evening, around 9 PM, he brought a customer to the hotel room and tried to coerce the girl into an illicit act. The girl managed to inform a friend, who immediately alerted the police. Acting swiftly, the Kharavela Nagar police conducted a raid, rescued the minor, and detained the accused.
CCTV footage from the hotel has been seized, and the accused was produced before the court on Thursday. Preliminary investigations suggest that the racket was operating by deceiving job-seeking women and minors, calling them to hotels for “interviews,” and later blackmailing or intimidating them into prostitution.
Police sources said that further investigation is underway to identify other members of the network.
The case has raised serious concern within the Commissionerate Police, especially since a similar racket was busted in the Laxmisagar area during Diwali, followed by another in Unit-3 just days later. Authorities have intensified surveillance in hotels and lodges across the city to crack down on such trafficking activities.
