Minor Girl Rescued From Rajasthan Refuses To Return To Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The minor girl from Odisha’s Sundargarh, who was rescued from Rajasthan by Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) a few days ago, has reportedly refused to return to her native place.

According to sources, a team of Odisha Police and District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) had to return empty after the girl and her father refused to return home despite assurances from the district administration on legal steps for their safety and security.

The DWC has made arrangements for them at a shelter home in Jharkhand, the sources added.

The minor girl, a native of Lathikata area in Rourkela, was allegedly sold to Mukesh Agrawal and Kishan Agrawal by sher relatives in Rourkela in December 2017 for Rs 4 lakh. She was then forced to marry a 40-year-old man, who had raped her several times. The girl was pregnant when DCW rescued her with the help of anti-trafficking squad from Jhunjhun in Rajasthan.

The girl’s father had approached DWC for help after police allegedly took no step to trace her. He claimed that after she was rescued and produced before the Child Welfare Committee in Rourkela in December 2017, a sub-inspector of Lathikata police station obtained written declaration from him that he had received his daughter. A similar declaration was taken from the minor.

However, the sub-inspector then handed over the girl to her captors, Kishanlal Agarwal and Mukesh Agarwal, and others accompanying them, the girl’s father alleged, adding that he was told that she would be returned to him the next day, but that never happened.