DHENKANAL: A 17-year-old tribal girl from Dhenkanal has claimed that she was traded twice and repeatedly raped for over two years in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district.
The incident of trafficking and prolonged sexual assault has come to light after the survivor managed to escape from her captors and reached back home in Kamakhyanagar of Dhenkanal district, where she lodged a complaint with local police.
Dhenkanal SP Abhinav Sonkar said police have launched a vigorous investigation and sent a special team to Uttar Pradesh to nab those involved in the crime.
According to the survivor, she was confined and sexually assaulted for nearly two years before managing to escape and return to Odisha on May 18. She lodged a complaint at the Kamakhyanagar police station on May 23.
According to the FIR, the girl was approached in 2024 by a local man, Binanda Patra, who promised her a job in Bhubaneswar. However, when they reached Bhubaneswar, instead of arranging employment, he handed her to one Ashish Jadav, who allegedly took her to a village in Jhansi. At the Bhubaneswar railway station, she was joined by more girls who were taken with her.
The survivor alleged that Ashish repeatedly sexually assaulted her. Ashish’s father Kalyan also raped her for nearly three months, during which she became pregnant. The father-son duo reportedly forced her to undergo an abortion.
Police said the girl was later sold by Ashish to another man Chandrapal Kushwah 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.
“They would physically assault her during the entire period,” her complaint stated. The accused persons run different businesses.
However, earlier this month, she managed to escape from captivity and reached Jhansi, where she lodged a complaint with the help of an advocate. The survivor alleged that instead of initiating action, the Jhansi police arranged a train ticket for her to return to Odisha.
After reaching Kamakhyanagar on May 18, she approached the local police station and lodged a complaint. Police subsequently registered a case and recorded her statement.
Kamakhyanagar IIC Jitendra Mallick said the girl’s medical examination had been conducted and all legal formalities completed. He added that the local middleman, from the nearby Kankadahad area, is absconding and efforts are underway to arrest him.
Police suspect the case may not be an isolated incident and fear that several other girls could also have been held captive in Uttar Pradesh under similar circumstances.
