Minor girl rescued from Rajasthan refuses to return to Odisha

Bhubaneswar/New Delhi: The Odisha minor girl rescued by Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) a few days ago from Rajasthan has refused to return to her home.

According to sources, a team of Odisha Police and District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) who went to Delhi to bring the girl to Odisha had to return empty handed after the girl and her father refused to come back to their home state.

Despite assurances from district administration on legal steps for safety and security of the girl and her family members, the girl and her father have  refused to come back to Odisha following which the Delhi Child Welfare Committee (CWC) has reportedly made arrangements for the settlement of the duo in an outside state.

Sources said both the girl and her father would be kept at a shelter home in Jharkhand.

The girl, a resident of Lathikata area in the steel city was allegedly sold by her relatives for Rs 4 lakh to Pawan Agarwal and Kisan Agarwal of Rajasthan two years back. She was forced into a marriage with a 40-year-old man who had raped her several times during the past one year.

After the father of the girl approached the DCW, the anti-trafficking squad of the Commission rescued the girl from Jhunjhunu area of Rajasthan.

DCW chairperson Swati Maliwal had demanded action against erring officials of Odisha Police and traffickers in a letter written to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.