Dibrugarh police apprehend notorious child trafficker, rescue 3 minors

A CORRESPONDENT

DIBRUGARH: Dibrugarh police apprehended a notorious child trafficker Vijay Patnaik (46 years), during a coordinated operation at the Tinsukia railway station on Thursday evening. The successful operation led to the rescue of three minors, two girls and a boy, who were moments from being transported out of Assam.

A suo moto case was registered at Lahowal police station. Patnaik has been charged under sections 137-2 (kidnapping) and 143-5 (trafficking of person) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and has been remanded to judicial custody.  

The joint operation was carried out by police teams from the Chabua and Lahowal police stations.

Acting on a specific intelligence input regarding the movement of the trafficking suspect, the teams intercepted Patnaik, a resident of Kadamoni, Chabua, as he was preparing to board a train with the victims. “We have arrested the accused from Tinsukia railway station and rescued three minors from his clutches. He was going to sell them outside Assam,” said a police official.

Preliminary investigations suggest that Patnaik is a key figure in a protracted trafficking ring, allegedly responsible for ferrying numerous women and minors from across Assam to other states for financial gain. The police had been pursuing him for a long time.

Also Read: Man Nabbed for Attempted Child Trafficking in Tinsukia's Philobari