A 14-year-old girl kidnapped from Sitamarhi district about two weeks ago was recovered from a house at Chhoti Balia in Begusarai district on Wednesday.

Seven persons, including three women, were also arrested in this connection.

The girl, hailing from Birganj in Nepal, was kidnapped when she had gone to offer prayers with her parents at a temple near Dumra police station in Sitamarhi town on February 5. The victim's father had suspected the involvement of a neighbour Anwar Nut, who was arrested from Moganwa village in Sitamarhi district.

Sitamarhi superintendent of police Hari Prasath S. said on Wednesday that Anwar had kidnapped the girl and subsequently sold her off to Raveena Khatoon, a resident of Begusarai, for Rs 25,000. Khatoon was allegedly associated with human trafficking racket and had links with owners of dance bars in the metropolitan cities and also in Nepal.

Hari said the Nepalese girl was kept at Khatoon's house from where she was rescued by a three-member team headed by Sitamarhi additional superintendent of police (operations) Sanjiv Kumar pon Tuesday. The girl was taken to Begusarai, around 175km southeast of Sitamarhi town, by three persons soon after her kidnapping.

On the basis of information provided by Anwar, his four associates - Chhote Nut, Bhutkun Nut, Geeta Devi and Juhi Khatoon - were later arrested from Sitamarhi.

Mohammad Mallu, who had earlier been booked for his involvement in human trafficking activities, was also apprehended from Goha Tola in Sitamarhi town, SP Hari told The Telegraph over phone.

During investigation, it came to the fore that a well-knit human trafficking racket was thriving in the districts bordering Nepal. Even some members would stay in Nepal on rented accommodation to keep a close watch on susceptible girls and women. They would develop relations with the families and offer to visit places of worship in neighbouring Bihar from where they were kidnapped.

Dumra police station house officer Jitendra Kumar, who was part of the special team to solve the case, said the girl used to call Anwar as 'uncle' and even Anwar admitted to have been known to the victim's family. 'Anwar was spotted moving around the Mahavir temple at Dumra on the day the girl was held captive,' he revealed.

Anwar told the police that Chhote, his wife Raveena and their friend Geeta Devi had been involved in anti-national activities along the porous international border for long. He came in contact with the couple (Chhote and Raveena) about three years ago and fell in their trap to make a fast buck.

SP Hari said the antecedents of all the seven arrested persons were being verified. 'We are in touch with senior police officers of neighbouring districts in north Bihar.'