PATNA, Feb. 13 -- As many as 15 minor girls were rescued from Bihar's Saran district in a joint raid conducted by the Saran Police with the members of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and NGOs Association for Voluntary Action, officials said on Friday. Seven orchestra owners were arrested for trafficking the victims to work as dancers in Bihar under the pretext of getting them a job.

Most of the rescued girls bore visible injury marks on their bodies. They had been trafficked from Punjab, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. All the girls have been placed in shelter homes.

The raids were conducted under the directions of ADG (Weaker Section) Amit Kumar Jain and on the orders of the Saran SP. The opera...