Jajpur: A minor tribal girl of the Kalia Pani area in Odisha's Jajpur district was allegedly sold in Madhya Pradesh and later married by the buyer. Her family has lodged a complaint with the police.

According to reports, two sisters from Sansailo village under Sukinda police limits allegedly conspired to sell the girl. The younger sister, said to be a friend of the victim, lured her with promises of a pilgrimage and sightseeing. The accused later took her to Madhya Pradesh and sold her to a man who planned to marry her.

The victim’s family came to know of the incident after hearing her account and seeing photographs and videos she sent from Madhya Pradesh. They have submitted these to the police as evidence.

Sources said the younger sister became acquainted with the victim while they stayed at a high school hostel in Kuhika. During summer vacation, she visited the victim’s village several times. The victim, who had just passed her matric exams and enrolled at Sukinda College, went missing on July 27 in what is now believed to be a planned abduction.

That morning, the two accused sisters took the girl to Madhya Pradesh. A day after reaching there, the victim informed her parents that she was fine.

However, one-and-a-half months later, the family discovered that she had been sold and married, with her in-laws reportedly paying money to ‘buy’ her.

Kalinganagar ASP Suprasanna Mallik said that an investigation is underway, and the two accused sisters are under the police scanner.