Sambalpur: Ainthapali police Tuesday busted a women trafficking racket and arrested two persons for their alleged involvement in trafficking minor girls and women from Orissa to other states.
They were identified as Trilok Singh Thakur (26) and Jinesh Jain (28) of Damo in Madhya Pradesh. Police also rescued a minor girl and handed her over to her parents.
Meanwhile, two women – Muni Bai (35) of Jharsuguda and her aide from Sambalpur – have been accused of being involved in this racket, said SP Sanjeev Arora at a press conference.
According to police, Sana Bag, a resident of Danipali, had lodged a complaint with Ainthapali police accusing Thakur Singh of trafficking his 15-year-old daughter July 11. He also mentioned the names of Muni, Jinesh and the other women in his complaint.
Accordingly, the police registered a case and launched a probe. The preliminary investigation revealed the involvement of a racket behind the trafficking of the girl. Muni who was married to Paban Tiwary of Damo was identified as the kingpin of the racket.
Due to less number of girls in Damo, they trafficked girls from Orissa promising them of good jobs. Later, they got them married in the area. They threatened the girls with dire consequences if they protested or tried to flee.
Similarly, Thakur Singh approached Muni to arrange a girl for his marriage. He also paid Rs 45,000 in advance. Then, Muni lured the minor and sent her with Thakur and got them married with the girl’s consent, it was learnt.
This racket made huge money by trafficking girls, police said. They mostly targeted vulnerable minor girls who were looking for jobs, it was learnt. Taking advantage of their poverty, Muni took the girls on the promise of providing jobs to them and got them married.
Police suspected the involvement of many more persons while further investigation was on. PNN