Minor girl missing since 2023 rescued from Rajasthan’s Pali, five arrested

JAIPUR: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) rescued a minor girl from Pali on Saturday, nearly two years after she vanished from Bardhaman, West Bengal, in what officials believe is part of a broader human trafficking network. Five individuals have been arrested.The girl disappeared on August 9, 2023, after leaving home for tuition and never returning. Efforts by local police and the West Bengal CID to locate her were unsuccessful. In February 2024, the Calcutta High Court transferred the case to the CBI following a petition filed by her mother seeking further investigation.Based on intelligence gathered from sources and phone call records, a CBI team located the girl on Friday at the residence of one of the accused in Pali. Investigators discovered that she had been a minor when she went missing but was portrayed as an adult through forged affidavits used to facilitate her marriage. It was reported that she had been sold twice for marriage.The CBI apprehended Bharat Kumar, Jagdish Kumar, Mena Dapuben, Rata Ram and Dilip Kumar on the same day. On Saturday, they were presented before the Judicial Magistrate in Marwad Junction, Pali district, which granted a three-day transit remand for their transfer to the Additional District and Sessions Judge in Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal.