Post News Network
Rayagada, Feb 28: Government railway police (GRP) rescued eight girls from Rayagada railway station while they were being trafficked to Tamil Nadu by a train Friday night to work as bonded labourers. All the girls are natives of Kalahandi district.
According to the GRP official Suresh Chandra Nayak, the girls were being taken to Junagarh of Kalahandi first and from there to Tamil Nadu to work as bonded labourers. According to GRP sources, a 26-year-old woman identified as Saraswati Jena of Gautami village of Ganjam district had gone to Junagarh February 19 to convince local girls for shifting to Bhubaneswar for tailoring jobs. During her eight-day stay in the area, she managed to convince these eight girls and their family members. She had assured them that they would have to work in Bhubaneswar. Thereafter, their family members agreed to send them along with her.
All the girls along with Saraswati had boarded Junagarh-Bhubaneswar Hirakhand Link Express Friday night. But, Saraswati had actually planned to take these girls to Tamil Nadu.
The girls came to know that they were being taken to Tamil Nadu while travelling in the train, after which they sought help of another woman travelling by the same train. The woman immediately informed some social activists about the matter and the informed the Rayagada GRP.
GRP officials rescued the girls from the train at Rayagada station and detained Saraswati. Rayagada district superintendent of police K Shiva Subramani and sub-divisional police officer Y Jagannath Rao also went to the station and made arrangements for keeping them at a short-stay home.
GRP officials also informed the family members of these girls about the matter. Meanwhile, GRP have registered a case under section 34 and 374 of Indian Penal Code and started an investigation into the matter.
