BERHAMPUR: Gajapati police on Wednesday busted an interstate sex trafficking racket, rescuing seven women including six minors from Hyderabad. Two persons - Iswar Kusulia (30) of Rayagada and Saritha Lunawat (56) of Hyderabad - were arrested for their alleged involvement in the racket.
Police said a case was registered on June 24 on basis of a complaint filed by a minor victim’s relative in R Udayagiri, who alleged that the girl was missing from home since June 21. The complainant stated that despite extensive searches by her family, the victim remained untraceable until June 24 when she contacted her relatives over phone. She reportedly told them that Iswar had taken her and a friend to Hyderabad on the pretext of arranging jobs.
During investigation, police found that instead of providing employment, the accused had reportedly sold the two girls for `70,000 to Saritha, who was operating from Hyderabad.
Acting on the information, Gajapati police coordinated with their Hyderabad counterparts and raided Saritha’s premises. During the operation, police rescued seven women including six minor girls from her custody. The victims and the two accused were brought to Odisha.
The victims alleged that they were wrongfully confined, physically and mentally tortured, deprived of their mobile phones, and forced into prostitution.
The rescued victims were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and were later reunited with their families.