Five minor tribal girls from Odisha have been rescued from Hyderabad, and the prime accused in the human trafficking case has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.
The rescued minors belong to economically disadvantaged tribal communities, specifically the Kandha and Saura groups, and had previously dropped out of school, according to authorities.
The incident unfolded after a local sarpanch filed a complaint at the Adava police station in Gajapati district on August 17, alleging the trafficking of local girls. Based on the complaint, an investigation was initiated led by R Udayagiri SDPO Rakesh Kumar Sahoo.
During the investigation, police officials received credible intelligence about the movement of the victims to Hyderabad and conducted targeted searches across various locations in the city and successfully rescued all five girls.
Police revealed that the perpetrators had allegedly forged the girls’ identification documents to falsely inflate their ages to adulthood, thereby facilitating the trafficking operation.
The prime suspect, identified as Rajkumar Bastray, has been taken into custody.
“Further investigation is underway to identify other persons involved in the trafficking network, trace and rescue other possible victims, and apprehend all remaining accused persons,” SDPO Sahoo told reporters.
“The health, safety and education of these minor girls are now our top priority. We are committed to ensuring their proper rehabilitation and restoration of their rights,” he said.
