Three scamsters, who worked for Bollywood biggies, have been arrested for taking nearly 40-45 children to the foreign country on the promise of a better future
The trio used to contact parents who were worried about the future of their sons, and would easily fall prey and agree to send their wards to Europe with hopes of a brighter future
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The drug menace in Punjab had made it easier for these three scamsters from the Bollywood industry to lure parents of teenaged boys into sending them to Europe with hopes of good education, fulfilling jobs and eventually a national citizenship. However, what they didn't know was that their free run would not last forever.
Acting on a tip-off, police laid a trap at the Terminal II of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Thursday and arrested two men and a woman, who were there along with four teenaged boys. On searching them, cops found six passports, Ethiopian Airline tickets and 6,000 euro.
The accused would then prepare fake documents and visas linking the details of the children with the person who would accompany them to the foreign land
The accused have been identified as Arif Shafeeq Farooqui (48), a Kurla resident who worked as still cameraman; assistant cameraman Rajesh Pawar (48), resident of Khar-Danda and Fatima Fareed Ahmed (48), who worked as a hairstylist with Bollywood directors.
Agent yet to be arrested
Police suspect that the human-trafficking racket was going on for the past three to four years and involves nearly 40-45 children. The agent, who used to bring the boys to Mumbai, is yet to be arrested. The Anti-Robbery Cell had received a tip-off regarding the gang's activities six months back. After getting the boys to Mumbai, the trio used to prepare fake documents and then escort the children to Europe. What was even worse was that the accused would leave them in Gurdwaras and return to India.
They would then accompany the children to Europe and leave them at Gurdwaras there
Speaking to mid-day, additional commissioner of Crime Branch KMM Prasanna said, "The accused contacted those parents who would be extremely worried about their wards' future. Hence, they would easily fall prey to the gang's fake promises. The agent charged R10 lakh from each boy's parents and kept Rs 2 lakh for himself. Thereafter, the trio would prepare fake documents linking the details of the boys with the person who would accompany them."
Fake visas
"The accused would take the children to Europe on fake tourist visas and then return via a different route after abandoning them. We suspect that this was going on for the last three to four years, but the exact number of children trafficked is yet to be known," said a Crime Branch officer.
The accused would then return to India via a different route. Illustrations/Ravi Jadhav
He further said, "The accused have been booked under sections 370 (5) (trafficking of persons), 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property, 465 (punishment for forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security, will, etc), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic record, 170 (personating a public servant, 120 (b) and 12 (1) (2) of IPC. Further investigation into the matter is on."
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