17-yr-old tribal girl sold, forced into marriage, trafficked again

Raipur: The police busted an inter-state human trafficking racket on the complaint of a 17-year-old tribal girl, who managed to escape from the clutches of a Madhya Pradesh man she was sold to and forced to marry. The ring was uncovered and busted with the arrest of five accused persons, including two women and a juvenile.The sleuths revealed that the accused lured the minor on the pretext of providing her a job, only to trade her for Rs 2.5 lakh to a man in Madhya Pradesh, whom she married under coercion and was sexually exploited.She somehow managed to escape from his clutches and returned to Raigarh. However, the freedom was short-lived, as the minor alleged that the traffickers tracked her down and pushed her into flesh trade.However, the girl then approached police, who, based on a complaint registered on April 11, launched an investigation and uncovered a network operating across Raigarh and parts of Madhya Pradesh.Four alleged trafficking agents, including two women, were arrested along with the buyer, while a juvenile was detained.Sharing details of the ring, Raipur SSP Shashi Mohan Singh said the operation was handled with sensitivity, given the survivor's age, and strict action was taken under provisions of kidnapping, rape, human trafficking and the POCSO Act. The accused were produced before a court, which remanded them to judicial custody.The SSP said ran away from home in Nov last year and was put up on a ground near a school, from where a friend took her to the trafficking racket, not knowing what they were into. Thereafter, she was shipped away to neighbouring Madhya Pradesh on the pretext of getting her a job in the state. However, she was forcibly married off to her buyer.Police said preliminary findings indicate the accused used personal contacts and false assurances to gain the trust of vulnerable individuals. Officers said they were probing whether more girls or women were similarly victimised by the racket.The SSP said that the survivor was in deep trauma and was being counselled.