Bhubaneswar: A 14-year-old girl, who was allegedly trafficked from Odisha’s Kandhamal district and sold for Rs 70,000 in Madhya Pradesh in July, was brought back home on Saturday following a joint operation by Odisha and MP police.

The girl, who had been missing for the last 3 months, was traced to MP’s Sagar district. Three suspects, including the main accused, Shashibhushan Pani (28) from Malipada, and brothers Mahesh Patel (38) and Sandeep Patel (24) from Jaisiv Nagar in Sagar have also been arrested. ADVERTISEMENT

According to sources, Pani, who had been living in Malipada for a year, gained the trust of the girl’s family by promising her a job with a monthly salary of Rs 18,000. However, he allegedly took her to MP, kept her in a lodge, raped her, and later sold her to the Patel br

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