North Lakhimpur: An eight-year-old girl from Assam has been rescued in Arunachal Pradesh after reportedly being held captive and physically abused for years.
The rescue followed the circulation of two videos on social media that showed the girl being subjected to physical and sexual abuse by her alleged captor in Arunachal Pradesh.
The girl is from Sarengjan village in Ming Mang, near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh inter-state boundary, around 20 km from Gogamukh.
She reportedly came from a poor family and was taken to Arunachal Pradesh by Biri Tara through a trafficker who had promised her a better life and schooling.
Instead, the girl was allegedly made to work as a domestic helper and subjected to daily physical abuse by Tara.
The accused has reportedly been arrested in Itanagar by the Arunachal Pradesh authorities. Following her rescue, the girl was shifted to a child welfare centre.
The incident has also brought attention to reports of minor girls being trafficked from the inter-state boundary areas of Assam’s Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts to Arunachal Pradesh for forced labour and, in some cases, physical and sexual abuse.
The report states that poor families from socially marginalised communities are particularly vulnerable to such inter-state trafficking networks.
Some victims reportedly go missing or die under unclear circumstances, while others manage to return or escape after prolonged abuse and trauma.