Cuttack, March 2: The Crime Investigation Department-crime branch today busted an inter-state women trafficking racket by arresting six persons, including the gang mastermind, from Kandhamal district.

A senior official said the gang was busted after a 31-year-old woman from Kandhamal district had filed a complaint at the crime branch here on February 23.

According to the complaint, the victim alleged that a few local youths had lured her on the pretext of marriage and later forced her to engage in a prostitution racket in Bhubaneswar.

Later, the case was transferred to the anti-human trafficking unit and the mastermind, Jagabandhi Sahani, 30, along with five of his associates, was nabbed.

Sahani's other associates were identified as Amlan Pati, 28, Ramesh Das, 28, Gitanjali Gauda, 35, Lipu Nayak, 30, and Steny N. Aliv, 18.

"Preliminary investigation revealed that a well-organised racket was operating and involved in the trafficking of poor women and girls from the state, particularly to New Delhi and Haryana," said special director-general of police (crime) B.K. Sharma.

Sharma said the victims, especially the poor, destitute and widows, were lured by the agents and subsequently trafficked them to other parts of the state and outside.

It was found that the girls were forced to engage themselves mostly in prostitution rackets in Bhubaneswar. Six cases of illegal trafficking came to light after the gang was busted today.

A senior official of the anti-human trafficking unit said that already two victims from the state had been rescued while efforts were on to trace the other victims from the state at the earliest possible opportunity.

It is suspected that the victims were lured on the pretext of marriage outside Odisha. Later, Sahani sold them through his associates working in other states.

Crime branch officials suspect that most of the victims were initially paid a paltry amount ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000, while the gang used to earn more than Rs 50,000 per deal outside the state.

"A detailed inquiry will be conducted to ascertain the role of other associates of the gang or any other organisation is active in the illegal trafficking of women and girls from the state," Sharma said.