Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, May 10:
Three girls from Delang area in Odisha’s Puri district, who were allegedly kidnapped three weeks ago, have been traced to Jaunpur in Uttar Pradesh. An Odisha police team has left for UP to rescue the girls.
The three girls identified as Itishree Swain, Priyanka Pradhan and Pragna Jena from Beraboi, Bidurpur and Pidhapatna villages respectively under Delang block were taken by a choreographer on the pretext of performing in a cultural programme in Baleswar. However, the whereabouts of these girls were not known after the programme raising suspicion of foul play.
“My daughter called up and kept crying continuously. She could not utter a word. We don’t know the choreographer. He had come to our house and taken my daughter with him,” sister of Itishree, Priyadarshini Swain alleged.
Notably, these girls had accompanied a choreographer on April 19 to Baleswar for a dance show. The dance director Karna Das from Humar village under Delang Tehsil had escorted them to the coastal town of Baleswar for a stage show.
However, the choreographer allegedly took the trio to Uttar Pradesh after the show was over instead of returning to their respective homes.
“My daughter used to perform in nearby areas and reach home by night. At this stage, I cannot say what has gone wrong,” Pragna’s mother Pramila Jena said.
“I put the blame on the choreographer as he took our girls to some other place without informing us. As they are grown up girls, it would definitely raise suspicion of some wrongdoing,” Priyanka’s father Nityananda Pradhan said.
By the time the girls realised that they were being conned, it was too late. They had reached Uttar Pradesh. To their utter luck, one of the girls dialled her home and narrated her ordeal in captivity.
Following this, a case of kidnapping was registered at Delang police station. Puri police established contact with their Uttar Pradesh counterparts after which the latter launched investigation into the matter.
The UP police came to know that the girls were confined to a place at Jaunpur and were rescued with the help of local police.
Meanwhile, a team of Puri police personnel has left for UP to bring the three girls and the choreographer to Odisha.
“We received complaints that the girls who had gone for dance performance have faced trouble. We would definitely investigate how and under what circumstance these girls were taken to other state,” Puri SP Ashish Kumar Singh said.
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