Keonjhar: Town police here Tuesday arrested two persons on charges of their involvement in trafficking of a 16-year old tribal orphan girl to Bhubaneswar and involving her in flesh trade. The girl was rescued by the police and her ordeal came to the fore during counseling by a voluntary outfit. The accused were identified as Ranjit Sahoo and Sushila Patra of Kiapada village under Turumunga police limits in Keonjhar district. Police arrested them after receiving a complaint from a caregiver of an open shelter at Keonjhar where the survivor is currently under shelter. The accused women were produced in the court Tuesday and further investigations are underway, Town police IIC Srikant Sahu said. According to the complaint, the minor girl was rescued along with other girls by Khandagiri police during a raid at a slum in Khandagiri area December 1, 2024 when she was engaged in flesh trade.
Later, she was housed in an open shelter. Khandagiri police handed over the girl to Child Welfare Committee, Keonjhar after some days, as she was a native of the district. Later, she was housed in an open shelter in Keonjhar. The survivor, during counseling, narrated her ordeal and revealed how she was trafficked from Keonjhar to Bhubaneswar and engaged in flesh trade. She disclosed that one year ago, Ranjit Sahu and Sushila Patra of Kiapada village met her grandmother and took her with them saying that they would engage her in household works. They took her to Keonjhar town where she stayed with Ranjit in a rented house. Sushila and her son and daughter also lived in the same house. After that, Ranjit shifted to another rented house at Baladevjew Colony.
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During her stay at Baladevjew Colony, Ranjit engaged her in flesh trade despite her denial. She alleged that five to six people used to visit the house every day and establish physical relationship with her. Later, a woman named Dolly Swain from Bhubaneswar, accompanied by one Milu, took her to the Capital city on the pretext of marrying her to her (Dolly’s) son. There, she was kept in Dolly’s house in a slum and was engaged in flesh trade. Another girl Rita was also forced into flesh trade, the complainant alleged. When the victim became pregnant twice, she was forced to undergo abortion. Meanwhile, one of the girls managed to escape and informed the local police. Khandagiri police conducted a raid and rescued her. A child rights activist said the number of arrests will rise if police conduct a thorough probe.