Rachakonda police busted a human trafficking racket operating from Hyderabad via online dating apps and arrested six persons, including a couple from Mumbai, a lodge owner and workers from Maharashtra. The Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Rachakonda police, along with the Uppal police on Friday, rescued two minor victims, both sisters, from Bangladesh.
The racket was being operated in Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Jharkhand, said Rachakonda police commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat.
The accused were identified as Satish Rajak, 25 and his wife Brishti Khatun, 22, who run a fast food centre at Paghar district of Mumbai, along with Deepak Chand, 27, organiser from Jaipur, Rajasthan; Arun Ramachandra Jhadav, 56, owner Navrang Lodge in Karad taluk, Maharashtra; Suresh Balusonavne, 36, manager of the lodge; Aslam Chand, 37, a worker, police said. One Kumavath Prakash, 30, from Ramanthapur, Rajasthan and one Priyanka from West Bengal were absconding.
The racket was unearthed following a complaint from a woman to the Uppal police at night on July 11, wherein she stated that she was a Bangladeshi national and that her husband, an Indian, was a driver. Due to financial problems, she had contacted one of her relatives, Brishti, for employment.
“Brishti assured she would provide job in India to the complainant and her sister, who is aged 15. On June 26, they travelled from Bangladesh to Kolkata. Procured fake identity cards and later they came to Hyderabad to one of their client’s house at Uppal,” Bhagwat said.
He said Deepak Chand and Satish Rajak were into the flesh trade for the last few years. They used to procure women from different states.
“Satish and Brishti prepared the victims’ fake Aadhaar cards in West Bengal and kept the sisters at an apartment in Nalasopara, Maharashtra. Later, they took them to a house at Uppal in Hyderabad. On July 11, the victim quarrelled with Satish and Brishti for involving her younger sister in prostitution. And left the house, after which she was rescued by the police,” Bhagwat said.
The AHTU team and the Uppal police organised a rescue operation in Navarang Lodge at Karad in Maharashtra. With the assistance of the local police and nabbed traffickers Sathish. Alongwith Bristi, Arun, Suresh and Aslam and rescued the minor girl from their custody.
The traffickers will be taken into police custody for further investigation, the official said.