Ashok Rajgor from NGO Rescue Foundation says Bangladeshi national told him that she was forced into the flesh trade operated from a dingy lodge in Nagpur for a month
Narrating her journey from Dhaka to Bhiwandi, the rescued 20-year-old Bangladeshi national said she illegally crossed the Indo-Bangladesh border with the help of a 30-year-old and another woman from her village. She also revealed how she was forced into prostitution after being sold to her first buyer in Nagpur.
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Shahid Ansari (left), his wife Daliya and their Bangladeshi agent Babuali Azgar Khan (right)
The rescue
Ashok Rajgor, chief investigation officer for NGO Rescue Foundation said, “One of our informer’s friends resides near the chawl at Bhiwandi Bypass. It was he who discovered that a girl was held captive and tortured in one of the chawl rooms. Following his information, we raided the room with the help of officials from Thane Crime Branch’s Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) last Thursday and rescued the 20-year-old.
The police arrested three people — Shahid and Daliya Ansari (husband and wife) and Babuali Khan, a Bangladeshi.”
Sold for Rs 30,000
After being kept in the Bhiwandi room for a few days, the victim was first sold to traffickers in Nagpur for R30,000. “While in Nagpur, she was forced into a prostitution racket operated from a dingy lodge. After a month, she was brought back to Bhiwandi and was sent to different lodges and dance bars,” Rajgor said, adding, “Areas like Bhiwandi Bypass, Shil Phata, Manpada in Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Thane and Taloja are infamous for prostitution. Mushrooming of shady lodges and illegal dance bars has fuelled prostitution in these areas. Despite conducting raids, police rarely reach traffickers and kingpins forcing innocent girls into prostitution.”
Crossing the border
Rajgor said, “The girl is a TYBcom student of a local college in Dhaka. She was approached by a woman from her village, who assured her of a well paying job at a posh hotel in Mumbai. It was this woman who led her to the Indo-Bangladesh border and asked the victim to tag herself along with a 30-year-old, she said would help them cross border. The trio then entered Kolkata, where the girl was handed over to another handler. It was this agent who travelled with the girl from Kolkata to Kalyan. After reaching Kalyan, the 20-year-old was handed over to Khan, who brought her to the chawl from where the Ansaris were operating their prostitution racket.”
6 more victims
Rajgor claimed the victim told him that another girl accompanied her when she was brought to Mumbai.
“She opened up once she realised that we wanted to help her. She claimed that there were six other girls in the Bhiwandi room — Bangladeshi and tribals from across India — who were being tortured and already forced into flesh trade,” he said, adding, “Cops must bust this syndicate, which runs all the way to Bangladesh.”