Berhampur: As many as 13 minor girls ran away from Utkal Balashram, a shelter house for orphans and destitute children, under Gosaninuagaon police limits in Odisha’s Ganjam district in the wee hours of Tuesday.
Sources said, location of the girls has been traced in Bhubaneswar and one of the 13 girls has been rescued little while ago.
The Commissionerate Police has launched a search operation to locate the 12 other girls.Besides, a team from Gosaninuagaon police has also left for Bhubaneswar to assist in the rescue operation, said an official.
According to reports, they escaped through a broken wall behind the main building of the shelter home at around 2 am on Tuesday.
The girls were housed in the Utkal Balashram for various reasons from being ostracized and abandoned by families. Eight of them were reportedly rape survivors.