Two girls rescued from Delhi-bound train in Assam, 3 suspected traffickers held

Two missing schoolgirls from Assam's Diphu were rescued from a Delhi-bound train in Bongaigaon district, with three suspected traffickers arrested in a coordinated police operation.

Two girls were rescued from a Delhi-bound train in Assam's Bongaigaon district, and three suspected traffickers were arrested, police said on Tuesday.

The girls, both residents of Diphu, were brought back along with the arrested trio on Monday night, they said.

The girls -- students of classes 10 and 12 at a government school in Diphu -- had been reported missing by their parents last week after they failed to return home from school.

A coordinated operation by the Assam Police and the Government Railway Police led to the rescue of the girls from the train in Bongaigaon and the arrest of the three accused, officials said.

The arrested youths, aged between 18 and 19 years and hailing from Bihar and Delhi, had allegedly befriended the girls through social media and were taking them to the national capital on the promise of jobs, they said.

''We suspect the involvement of a trafficking network. The three arrested persons were brought to Diphu last night. More details will emerge after interrogation,'' an official said.