Patnagarh: Police Saturday arrested three persons including a woman following the trafficking of a 16-year-old minor girl of Aenlapali village under Patnagarh police limits in Balangir district. The accused were identified as Saraswati Kumbhar (32) of the same village, Bhaskar Sahu (40) and Harihar Sahu (40) of Khalia.
The three confessed to have abducted the girl and sold her for `70,000 to a man in Rajasthan. The Rajasthani was identified as Ramlal Gujar (24).
Police seized a mobile phone and `45,000 from their possession. A case was registered and the three were produced in court. They were later remanded in judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected, sources said.
According to the case diary, the incident occurred July 23, 2016. The girl had been to a local weekly market. Family members searched for her after she failed to return home. Family members registered a missing person’s complaint July 24 after they got no clue of her whereabouts.
On a written complaint, police swung into action and suspected Saraswati of the same village as she was missing from the day of the incident. Later, police detained her. She confessed to the crime. She revealed the abduction plan before the police.
She along with Bhaskar and Harihar abducted the girl and took her to Rajasthan. There they sold her for `70,000 to Ramlal of Khanpur village. They allegedly got the two married at a notary. Later, they returned leaving the girl in Rajsthan after Ramlal handed them `45,000 and assured to pay the rest. The three distributed the amount among themselves.
Acting on a tip-off, police arrested Bhaskar and Harihar who were absconding since the incident happened. Police seized `45,000 and marriage affidavit papers from their possession. Further investigation of the matter is on, IIC Nirmal Kumar Mahapatra said.
Meanwhile, a special police team set off for Rajasthan in rescue mission of the girl, it was learnt. The matter will be clear after the return of the police team from Rajasthan, IIC Mahaptra added. PNN
