Nuapada, Sept 26: Chhattisgarh Police have busted an inter-state human trafficking syndicate operating along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border in Nuapada and Mahasamund districts. Acting under the leadership of Mahasamund SP Prabhat Kumar, police conducted raids at 10 locations and arrested five alleged labour contractors involved in the trafficking network. Police seized Rs 1.48 crore in cash, along with a cash-counting machine, diaries, bank passbooks, ATM cards and cheque books from the accused.

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The arrested accused have been identified as Mukesh Chandrakar, the alleged kingpin from Beltukuri in Nuapada; Lata Sabar of Khariar Road; and Chhattisgarh residents Manish Gupta, Nand Kumar Mahanty and Piyush Agrawal. The investigation began after a case surfaced involving a 15-year-old girl from Odisha, who had reportedly gone to work at a brick kiln in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, in January. The minor was allegedly held captive and sexually exploited.

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Following the incident, police launched an investigation that eventually led to the alleged inter-state trafficking network and the arrests.

After a court rejected their bail pleas, all five accused were sent to judicial custody.