RAIPUR: A 17-year-old tribal girl was rescued from an inter-state human-trafficking racket for sexual exploitation and forced marriage that led to the arrest of five accused, including two women and a juvenile. Police said the accused lured the minor on the pretext of providing her a job and later sold her for Rs 2.5 lakh to a man in Madhya Pradesh, where she was forced into marriage and exploited. She somehow escaped from his clutches and returned to Raigarh, from where the traffickers further pushed her into flesh trade, alleged the survivor. The girl then approached police and based on the complaint registered on April 11, police launched an investigation and uncovered a network operating across Raigarh and parts of Madhya Pradesh. Four alleged agents, including two women, and the buyer have been arrested, while one juvenile was detained.Raipur SSP Shashi Mohan Singh said the operation was handled with sensitivity, given the survivor’s age, and strict action has been taken under provisions of kidnapping, rape, human trafficking and the POCSO Act. The accused have been remanded to judicial custody.He said that the girl had run away from home in Nov last year and was staying near a school, from where her friend took her to the trafficking racket and on pretext of getting her a job in MP, she was transported to neighboring state and forcibly married off. Police said preliminary findings indicate the accused used personal contacts and false assurances to gain the trust of vulnerable individuals. Officials are probing whether more girls or women were victimized to the racket, as it seems to be an organized gang.SSP said that the girl is under trauma and was being counselled. Given the sensitivity of the case, the identity of the accused and name of places have been withheld.
