Siliguri, July 9: Nine girls — among them seven minors — were rescued by police from the New Jalpaiguri station and a hotel in its vicinity last night.The girls, accompanied by three women suspected to be traffickers, were on way to Delhi, where some “lucrative job offers” awaited them.
“Our men acted on a tip-off and raided the railway station and the hotel to rescue the girls,” said Rajesh Yadav, the additional superintendent of police, Siliguri. “The three women have been arrested. We need to interrogate them to know more about their intentions.”
The trio has been identified as Mariam Lakra, Ignasias Toppo and Bina Xalxo, who have been working as domestic helps in the Punjabi Bagh area of the capital for the past few years.
Mariam and Bina are residents of Lakhansinghjote while Ignasias hails from Kamala Bagan, both located in the Phansidewa police station area, 25km from here.
The girls are also from the same locality. Seven of them are in the age group 13-16. The girls, police sources said, have said they were going to Delhi to earn money and help their families.
Yadav, however, said some villagers of Lakhansinghjote spotted the girls at the New Jalpaiguri station yesterday evening. “They informed the Ghoshpukur outpost (under which the village comes), which in turn told us. Apparently the girls had been missing for sometime though no formal complaints were lodged,” said Yadav.
When the police team reached the New Jalpaiguri station after 10pm, they found four girls on the platform. “We questioned them and they said five others were in a nearby hotel, which we then raided,” the officials said.
Mariam, Ingnasias and Bina were produced in Siliguri court today and were remanded in police custody for nine days.
