Police rescue six girls from traffickers

Bhubaneswar, June 18 (UNI) Police today rescued six girls and arrested four touts on charges of women trafficking.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) in Bhubaneswar rescued five girls, two of them minors, and arrested two touts, who were trying to smuggle them to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

Bhadrak police also rescued one girl and arrested a tout on the same charges.

Police said one Basanti Jena from Puri and Mariapan from Tamilnadu had promised jobs to five girls at a prawn farm in Puri.

They took the girls and boarded the East Coast Express last night but instead of taking them to Puri they proceeded towards Andhra Pradesh. The girls, suspecting some foul play and shouted for help inside the train.

Soon the RPF accompanying the train came to their rescue and brought the girls back to Bhubaneswar from Khallikote. The two touts were arrested under various sections of the IPC.

In another incident, two touts were arrested today while trying to ''sell'' one girl from Amburuli village under Bhadrak Rural police station.The girl screamed for help when she came to know that she was being taken to Vanaras by the two touts.

The villagers managed to nab the two and handed over them to the police. The girl was handed over to her grandparent, the police said.

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