Bhubaneswar: Retried IAS officer Dinanath Panda found himself in a soup when a team of Childline officials and police raid his house on Monday and rescued a 12-year-old girl allegedly engaged at his place at Nayapalli here as domestic help.
“Initial investigation revealed that the girl was trafficked from her village in Ganjam district in November last year. She was then studying in Class V at the village school. Her father works as a rickshaw puller while her mother is a domestic help,” Bhubaneswar Childline Director Benudhar Senapati told the media.
Incidentally, Panda served as collector of Ganjam between December 1992 and April 1995. His son works as a teacher at National Law University, Hyderabad, and his daughter-in-law runs an English medium school at IRC village here.
The girl was later produced before Additional Child Welfare Committee here and sent to an open shelter run by Vishwa Jeevan Seva Sangha.
A complaint has been lodged against Panda, his son and daughter-in-law at Nayapalli police station.
The Childline has also reported the matter to Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Khurda district child protection officer and Bhubaneswar DCP for further investigation.
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