CUTTACK: A 17-year-old Bangladeshi girl, suspectedly a victim of trafficking, was rescued by Madhupatana police recently.
Police sources said the minor was found roaming at Link Road in the city late on November 9.
The next day she was handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and rehabilitated at Basundhara. Police, however, launched an investigation into the case on Saturday after CWC lodged an FIR in this connection.
CWC chairman Pramod Kumar Acharya said the minor girl had met a youth on Facebook who allegedly lured her to come to India on the false promise of providing her a job.
“However, when the girl landed in India two months back, she was first taken to Kolkata and then brought to Bhubaneswar where she was engaged at a massage centre and allegedly forced into prostitution,” Acharya said. The girl had revealed to the CWC that she lived in Gopalpur. “It is yet to be ascertained how and under what circumstances did she land in Cuttack,” the CWC official said.
The committee further submitted a letter to CDP, Cuttack seeking a thorough probe into the matter. Basing on the report, Madhupatana police registered a case and began investigation.
While Madhupatana IIC is in charge of the probe, ACP Zone-6 is monitoring the case. Efforts are underway to apprehend the accused, said a senior police officer.