Missing from Darj, minor girls found in Malda: Mystery shrouds case as police arrest Malda man, grill the girls

SNS, MALDA. 18 JUNE 21 : Two minor girls, who had gone missing and feared trafficked from Jamuney at Vatakvar under the Pulbazaar police station in Darjeeling, were rescued by the police near the Eklakhi area under the Pukhuria police station in Malda this morning. Police have detained one person from Malda in this connection.

However, mystery surrounds the 13-year-old girls' journey to Malda, and sources wondered how they might have travelled thus far on their own.

Police said they are still interrogating them with the help of interpreters, as both of them speak only the Nepali language, and are not well versed in Hindi.

According to sources, the location of the mobile phones the girls had been using was traced by the police at Maharajpur area under the Pukhuria police station around 9 am today "This information was shared with the Malda police and within an hour, the girls were rescued by the police," a source said.

Though the police initially ruled out any foul play and said they were not looking at a case of abduction or trafficking, what has baffled them and the people around is how they landed in the Eklakhi area, where no one from their community lives.

"Though it was earlier said that the girls had been visiting their relatives in Maharajpur without the knowledge of their family members, we cannot understand how that is possible as not a single person belonging to their community lives in that area in Malda. We are also at a loss as to who the person with the girls actually is?" another source in Malda said.

According to the Superintendent of Police in Malda, Alok Rajoria, they were still investigating the matter and that the girls had known the man in question in Jamuney itself, where he used to work earlier.

Mr Rajoria said the girls have been telling the police that they had travelled to Malda with the consent of their immediate family members. However, back in Darjeeling, the family members have filed an FIR with the police as soon as they found that the girls had gone missing.

"As t he investigation s continue, it is now for the district CWC (Child Welfare Committee) to decide as to what they would do with the girls," Mr Rajoria said.