Bhubaneswar: A 14-year-old girl, who was allegedly trafficked from Odisha’s Kandhamal district and sold for Rs 70,000 in Madhya Pradesh in July, was brought back home on Saturday following a joint operation by Odisha and MP police.
The girl, who had been missing for the last 3 months, was traced to MP’s Sagar district. Three suspects, including the main accused, Shashibhushan Pani (28) from Malipada, and brothers Mahesh Patel (38) and Sandeep Patel (24) from Jaisiv Nagar in Sagar have also been arrested.
According to sources, Pani, who had been living in Malipada for a year, gained the trust of the girl’s family by promising her a job with a monthly salary of Rs 18,000. However, he allegedly took her to MP, kept her in a lodge, raped her, and later sold her to the Patel brothers for Rs 70,000. The brothers confined her for nearly two months, subjecting her to physical and mental abuse while attempting to force her into marriage with Mahesh.
Meanwhile, Pani misled the girl’s parents, claiming she was fine but did not disclose the location of her workplace. Although this made the parents suspicious, they chose to remain silent, hoping for their daughter’s well-being.
After weeks of no contact, the girl called her elder sister on October 21, disclosing her ordeal, prompting her family to file a complaint with Kotagarh police.
Following which, a team led by IIC Anand Chandra Patra arrested Pani from Malipada on October 21. He confessed to selling the girl, leading to a special team being sent to MP. With local police assistance, they rescued the girl from Jaisiv Nagar on November 3 and arrested the Patel brothers. All three accused were presented in court on Saturday.
The girl was reunited with her family after a medical examination. Efforts are on to nab another suspect involved in the case, the police added.
