A special team of the Odisha police on Saturday arrested the prime accused in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi in connection with alleged trafficking and prolonged sexual assault of a 17-year-old tribal girl from Dhenkanal district.
The accused, Chandrapal Kushwaha (22), was arrested following a coordinated multi-state tracking operation and was produced before a local court on Saturday, police said.
A case has been registered under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act, police said.
The girl, belongs to an impoverished tribal family in Dhenkanal’s Kankadahada block, and was allegedly sold into captivity two years ago under the pretext of a job offer. She was subjected to abuse by Kushwaha and his family members in Jhansi and was also pregnant, police said.
According to police, it began after she lost her father at an early age. Her mother fell ill following a period of neglect by her stepfather. Desperate to arrange funds for her mother’s medical treatment, the girl approached a local broker, Binay Patra of Dangapal village.
“The broker promised the her a lucrative job in Bhubaneswar but instead trafficked her to Uttar Pradesh, selling her to Kushwaha in Jhansi, for an undisclosed sum,” said Jitendra Kumar Mallick, inspector-in-charge of Kamakhyanagar police station. Patra was arrested early this week, he said.
The girl was kept in confinement at Kushwaha’s residence. In her formal complaint, she said that she was repeatedly raped by Kushwaha, his brothers, and his father over a period of several months.
She was rescued on May 19, following which an official investigation was launched. Police said that the victim has undergone a mandatory medical examination and is now lodged in a shelter home.
Taking serious note of the systemic failures and cross-border trafficking network, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notices to the directors general of police (DGPs) of both Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, alongside the Dhenkanal district collector demanding a comprehensive report within two weeks seeking the current status of the criminal investigation and steps taken to arrest the remaining suspects.
It also asked for detailed measures initiated by the state administration to provide immediate medical relief, psychological counseling, and long-term rehabilitation to the minor survivor.
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