Bhubaneswar: A 17-year-old girl, who had been missing from Bada Bazaar area of Odisha’s Berhampur for nine months, was recently rescued from Surat city in Gujarat.
She was found at the residence of Kamraj Dubey (26), a married man with children from Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur district. He was arrested on Sunday on alleged rape charges and brought to Berhampur on Wednesday on transit remand.
Speaking to the media Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M said that the girl left home in November 2024 following a misunderstanding with her parents, prompting her father to lodge a missing complaint with police. She boarded a train and met the accused at Surat railway station. He then allegedly enticed her with a job offer and took her to his home at Hira Darshana in Surat’s Govalak Nagar. He then established a physical relationship with the girl and they lived as a couple.
Following a tip-off, Berhampur Town police traveled to Surat on August 16, rescued the girl the next day, and arrested Kamraj. The girl was presented before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and shifted to a rescue centre here, the SP said.
She was among the 55 women and children rescued by the police under the ongoing ‘Operation Anweshan’ launched by Odisha Police. The drive started on Monday and will continue for a week.
