KalingaTV News Network
Malkangiri: The innocent Bonda tribal girls in Malkangiri district, who have never seen the outside world and are far away from the modern, urban lifestyle, have also fallen prey to ‘Love, Sex Aur Dhokha’. The sordid tale of the entrapment of girls from the particularly vulnerable tribal group (PVTG) came to the fore with the revelation of a victim who dared to speak out her nightmarish experience before the media while another girl kept mum, possibly due to the fear consequences.
According to Rashmita (name changed) of Dumuripada village on the Bonda Hills, some dalals, taking advantage of the innocence of Bonda girls, take them to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh promising them lucrative jobs but engage them in lowly works, including flesh trade, and abandon them later.
“Promising to inform his family about our relationship and marry me, a man kept physical relationship with me when I was working there. Later, he abandoned me when I became pregnant. I only know the name of his village – Tanginiguda – and have the phone number he had given me. But, now I find the number switched off,” narrated Rashmita, who is now seven months pregnant. She has not filed any police complaint in the hope that the man may return and marry her.
“I am waiting for his return. Like me, there are many girls in Andhra Pradesh with similar experience,” she added.
Rashmita’s expose of the matter has left many parents panicky as they have no information about their daughters who have gone out to work. They alleged that girls of the Bonda Hills agree to go with the brokers as there is no work in the village to earn their livelihood.
“Since there is no source of income, many girls go out with the brokers who promise to provide good work with good money. But taking advantage of the innocence of our girls, they keep physical relationship with them and abandon them after they get pregnant. We will go to the man’s village and try to get his whereabouts and ask him to marry the victim. If he does not marry, we will punish him. The district administration should also look into the matter,” said Bida Sisa, brother of Rashmita.
Several development programmes have been initiated for the overall well-being of the Bondas, who are one of India’s most primitive tribes. But Rashmita’s ordeal has raised a question mark on the action of the district administration which is clueless about the exploitation of Bonda girls.
Kalinga AI