Sambalpur, June 28: The district police have sent a team to Madhya Pradesh to trace two minor girls who were allegedly sold by their parents. The eldest daughter of the couple has made the allegation.

In her complaint, Puspa Saha, 20, has accused her father Manbhola Naik, 45, and mother Prabhasini Naik, 40, of Modipura under the town police limits, of selling her sisters Jyoti, 12, and Anjali, 13, at Pathria village in Madhya Pradesh. She went to the police station with her younger brother and their paternal uncle. Pushpa is married and lives outside Sambalpur.

They alleged that a woman of Modipara had mediated between her parents and the buyers. Her parents sold the girls because they needed money.

Sanatan, Manbhola's 15-year-old son, said he had gone with his parents and two sisters to Pathria in Madhya Pradesh a few days ago. He was told that his sisters would get married there.

"But I did not see any marriage ceremony there. I saw my parents give one of my two sisters to one person and collect Rs 20,000 from him. Later, they went to a different place and handed over the other sister to another person," said Sanatan.

However, he could not say how much his parents got from the second deal. He said his parents thrashed him when he protested.

On their return to Sambalpur, he told Pushpa what had happened. Later, they met the members of Paschim Odisha Nari Adhikar Surakshya Mancha and lodged a complaint at the town police station with their help.

Sanatan's father, Manbhola Naik, denied the allegations and claimed that he had got his daughters married in Madhya Pradesh. He also claimed that his daughters were not minor.

Manbhola is a daily wage labourer and the father of six children.

Additional superintendent of police S.K. Panigrahi said a case had been registered at the town police station. "A police team has gone to Madhya Pradesh to investigate and Manbhola, too, has gone with the team," he said.