Koraput: Police on Wednesday night rescued 19 minor girls while they were being trafficked to Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh on promise of better livelihood on Wednesday night.

The cops were tipped-off about the girls being transported by two men in a government-run bus.

"We received a tip-off about the trafficking and accordingly waylaid the bus near Borigumma. We have detained the two traffickers for interrogation," said Sagarika Nath, trainee IPS officer posted at Borigumma police station. She said the rescued girls belonged to Dabugaon area in the bordering Nabarangpur district and were rescued around 10 pm.

The police the rescued girls, aged between 16 and 18, failed to provide any satisfactory answer about their desitnation. "The girls were unsure about their destination. The traffickers lured them with jobs outside the state and they decided to travel with them," said Nath.

On Thursday, the police produced the rescued children before the child welfare committee and initiated steps to hand them over to their respective families.

The police suspect that a well-established racket was active in the district that trafficked children from the area to other states on false promises of livelihood.

"We are interrogating the duo to identify the other group members. Subsequently, we will arrested them as well," the officer said.

Sources said people and children from remote areas are often lured by the prospect of a better life and travel to Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. But in most cases, they end up with a life of misery and physical assault.

"Regular awareness programmes should be organised by the authorities concerned to check human trafficking. People should be made aware about precautionary measures they should take while leaving their areas with agents," said Sanjit Patnaik, an activist.