Itanagar, April 2: Arunachal Pradesh police rescued three minor girls, aged 12, 13, and 15, suspected to have been trafficked to neighboring Assam, and detained a 16-year-old boy in connection with the case, Superintendent of Police Jummar Basar said.

The girls, residents of Jollang in Papum Pare district near Itanagar, reportedly met the boy on social media and left home after being lured. Missing-person complaints were filed at the Women Police Station on March 30.

Authorities launched a search using CCTV footage from the Smart City surveillance system, technical inputs, and human intelligence, tracing the minors to the Harmuti-Banderdewa area near the Assam-Arunachal border—Harmuti in Lakhimpur district, Assam, and Banderdewa in Papum Pare, Arunachal Pradesh.

A joint team of police and CRPF rescued the girls in the early hours of March 31 from a paying guest accommodation in Banderdewa. The victims had been held overnight before being moved to Harmuti on a hired scooter. Police said the girls were reportedly headed to Guwahati, but timely intervention prevented further movement.

Preliminary investigations indicate the boy contacted the girls online and enticed them away. All three girls underwent medical examinations and were reunited with their families. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Police advised parents to closely monitor their children’s social media activity to prevent similar incidents.