Missing Jalpaiguri Girl Found in Punjab After 10 Years

A 24-year-old tribal woman from the Sulkapara panchayat in the Nagrakata area of Jalpaiguri district has been rescued from Punjab after being missing for a decade. A team from the Nagrakata police station is currently bringing the woman back to her home, where she is expected to arrive on Tuesday. The woman went missing at the age of 14 while searching for work.

Investigation and Rescue Process

According to police reports, the woman had been working as a domestic helper for an industrialist family in the Amritsar region for the past four years. While she initially sent money home to her family in Nagrakata, these payments eventually stopped, causing the family to fear for her safety. The family filed a formal complaint at the Nagrakata police station in July. Acting on the complaint, a special police team was formed, which used mobile tower location data to track the woman to Amritsar and coordinated with the local police there.

Challenges Faced by the Victim

Police investigators discovered that the industrialist family in Amritsar had kept the woman in their home and did not allow her to leave. Although the family had reportedly planned to bring her back to Nagrakata to meet her relatives a year ago, the Amritsar police denied permission for this trip. Following the search efforts by the Nagrakata police, the industrialist family handed the woman over to the authorities. The Nagrakata police team took her into custody and departed from Delhi on Monday morning.

Expert Perspective on Human Trafficking

Sanjay Chakraborty, secretary of the Jalpaiguri Welfare Organization and a former Childline official, commented on the situation. He stated that children from remote areas are often taken to other states under the pretense of employment. Families are frequently misled with small sums of money, and cases are often not reported to the police in time. He credited the quick action of the police for the safe recovery of the young woman.