BALANGIR: The lure of a smartphone drove a 17-year-old youngster to such an extreme that he did not spare his newlywed wife and allegedly sold her to a businessman in Rajasthan for Rs 1.8 lakh. The incident was reported from Belpada from where the accused migrated to Rajasthan to work in a brick kiln.
A month into their wedding, the teenager, a resident of Sulekela within Belpada police limits sold his 26-year-old wife to a 55-year-old man in Baran district of Rajasthan. He used the money to buy a smartphone and eating out in restaurants.
He later returned to his village and when his in-laws inquired about their daughter, he told them that she deserted him. However, the family did not buy the teenager’s story and after checking his call records lodged a missing complaint with Belpada police on August 8.
During interrogation on October 18, the accused revealed to the police that he had sold his wife to a businessman from Rajasthan. Soon, a team comprising SI Deepak Dungdung, ASI SK Panda and two constables left for Baran, on the border of Madhya Pradesh to bring back the woman.
The woman from Tikrapada within Saintala police limits, was rescued from Baran on Friday with difficulty as locals resisted stating that the man had paid for her. The newly wed couple went to Rajasthan via Raipur and Jhansi to work in a brick kiln. But a few days later, he sold his wife to a businessman, said Belpada IIC Bulu Munda.
“When we found the details from the boy, a team from Balangir went to Rajasthan to trace her. However, the locals there did not allow our team to bring her back insisting that the man had paid Rs 1.8 lakh to buy her. We convinced them with difficulty and brought her back,” said the IIC. The teenager was produced before a juvenile court and sent to a correctional home.