Dhenkanal: A minor girl from Dhenkanal, who was allegedly sold off for Rs 50,000 in Goa, was rescued from Colva area of Goa by Gondia police Sunday.
The 10-year-old girl, whose father is behind bars on charges of killing her mother was working in a hotel and the owner’s house. She had allegedly been sold to the hotel owner more than one-and-a-half year back and was since then working there.
While her father is serving in jail after killing her mother, her grandfather was aware of it, Gondia IIC Nirupama Jena said. A four-member team of the district police, who had left for Goa January 9, rescued here. The girl will be brought back and produced before Child Welfare Committee, reports said.
The matter came to light after the district Child Welfare Committee received a complaint in this regard December 29. Later, CWC chairman Pratap Kumar Acharya had lodged a complaint with collector and superintendent of police to rescue the girl, belonging to Dakshinapasi village of Gondia block.
According to sources, the minor girl’s father is in jail for killing her mother three years ago. The girl has three siblings — two brothers and one sister. A relative of her, with the help of middlemen, took her to Goa and sold her.
They informed her siblings that she was safe and was earning money. However, after failing to get any contact of the girl for the past one and half year, a relative sought CWC’s intervention.
Acharya said, “After receiving the complaint my team and I visited the village to verify the allegation. We came to know that the girl has been sold off for Rs 50,000.”
While the case of inmates of Beltikiri shelter home being sexually harassed is still fresh in mind, the sensitive case of a minor girl being sold off in Goa has raised questions on the role of district administration.
“The administration is supposed to take care of the four children who are virtually orphaned and vulnerable too after the death of their mother and the arrest of their father,” locals pointed out.
PNN