A 17-year-old tribal girl from Odisha’s Dhinkanal district, who was allegedly trafficked to Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi district on the pretext of work, sold twice and subjected to repeated sexual and physical assaults for two years, escaped last week with the help of a local lawyer and returned home, police said.
Police said they launched an investigation after the survivor filed a complaint on May 23 at Kamakshianagar police station, and they are searching for the main accused, who is absconding.
“A woman has filed a complaint alleging that she was assaulted in Jhansi district of Uttar Pradesh after a man from Odisha sold her there. The suspect is currently on the run,” said Jitendra Mallick, inspector-in-charge of Kamakshianagar police station.
According to the FIR, the girl was living in Kankadadahada area of Dhenkanal district after her mother’s second marriage when a local man approached her in 2024 and offered her work in Bhubaneswar.
Instead of getting a job in Bhubaneswar, she and three other girls were trafficked to Uttar Pradesh and handed over to a man named Ashish Yadav in Jhansi district.
The victim said she was kept at Ashish’s house in Jhansi for three months, where Ashish and his father Kalyan repeatedly assaulted her.
“When she became pregnant as a result of the abuse, Ashish’s mother, Urmila, arranged a forced medical abortion,” the FIR said.
After the miscarriage, the girl was sold to a person named Chandrapal Kushwaha $50,000 December 2024.
“Chandrapal raped me first. Then his elder brother and two uncles took turns. This continued for two years,” the FIR added.
Eventually, the minor escaped one night with the help of a local lawyer and made her way to the Jhansi district headquarters last week. But the police did not provide her any help and sent her back to Odisha. Police and lawyers believe the case may be part of a much broader pattern. Madhur Yadav, the lawyer who helped the girl escape, said trafficking of this kind was routine.
