Five minor tribal girls rescued from Hyderabad, prime accused held: Odisha Police

Five minor tribal girls from Odisha were rescued from Hyderabad and the prime accused in the alleged trafficking case was arrested, police said on Wednesday, August 26.

The girls, belonging to economically disadvantaged tribal communities, including Kandha and Saura, had dropped out of school, police said.

The case came to light after a local sarpanch lodged a complaint at Adava police station in Gajapati district on August 17, alleging that several girls from the area had been trafficked.

Following the complaint, police launched an investigation under the supervision of R Udayagiri SDPO Rakesh Kumar Sahoo.

During the probe, police received information about the movement of the victims to Hyderabad and conducted searches at multiple locations in the city, rescuing all five girls.

The investigation revealed that the Aadhaar details of the girls were allegedly manipulated to show them as adults, facilitating their trafficking, police said.

The prime accused, Rajkumar Bastray, has been arrested, they added.

"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," 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.

Police said further investigation was underway to identify the other members of the alleged trafficking network and determine whether more victims were involved.

(With inputs from PTI)