DHENKANAL: Prime accused in the alleged trafficking and prolonged sexual assault of a minor girl of Kamakhyanagar in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi has been arrested by Dhenkanal police.
Accused Chandrapal Kushwah (26), a resident of Patha village under Erach police station limits in Jhansi district, was apprehended on June 3 and brought to Kamakhyanagar on Friday. He was produced before the POCSO Court in Dhenkanal on the day, said Kamakhayanagar IIC Jitendra Mallick.
Police said efforts are underway to apprehend other persons involved in the trafficking and sexual exploitation of the 17-year-old girl.
According to the complaint lodged by the survivor, in 2024, one Binay Patra of Kankadahad lured her from Kamakhyanagar to Bhubaneswar on the pretext of providing her a job. There, she came in contact with one Ashish Jadav from Jhansi, who took her to his house in Uttar Pradesh.
As per the complainant, Ashish repeatedly sexually assaulted her and his father Kalyan too raped her for nearly three months, during which she became pregnant. She was then reportedly forced to undergo an abortion, following which Ashish sold her to Chandrapal for Rs 50,000.
Chandrapal then raped her repeatedly while his elder brother and two uncles also sexually assaulted her over the next two years. The survivor alleged that she was kept in confinement and was not allowed to speak to anyone outside the family.
However, the police said that no evidence has been found against Ashish and investigation suggests that Binay took her to Madhya Pradesh via Bhubaneswar.
Two police teams that had travelled to Uttar Pradesh last month following the survivor’s complaint conducted an extensive investigation and arrested Chandrapal who had allegedly married the minor girl in January 2025.
Police said that the girl was taken from Kamakhyanagar in December 2024 by Binay on the promise of providing her a job. Instead, he reportedly took her to a woman living near the Madhya Pradesh-Uttar Pradesh border and left her there after receiving money. Binay was arrested on May 30 from Visakhapatnam.
Police further said that Chandrapal later came into contact with the girl through another middleman and married her in January 2025. The girl escaped from Chandrapal’s family with the assistance of an advocate last month, arrived in Odisha by train. After reaching Kamakhyanagar, she lodged an FIR at the local police station on May 23.
Acting on the directions of SP Abhinav Sonkar, two police teams were dispatched to Uttar Pradesh to investigate the case and apprehend the accused. A fresh police team will soon leave for Uttar Pradesh to nab other individuals involved in the crime, police said.