Couple held for alleged trafficking of two Sylhet girls to Cox's Bazar

Police arrested a couple today (28 April) on charges of trafficking two teenage girls from Sylhet to Cox's Bazar and forcing them into illegal professions.

The night before, the victims' mother filed a case against them with the Shahporan police.

The arrestees are Shahnaz and her husband Murad Ahmed Raju, hailing from Tikerpara area of Pirer Bazar of Sylhet city.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) of Sylhet Metropolitan Police Mohammad Saiful Islam said they arrested the couple and produced them before court on Monday.

According to police, the couple lured the teenagers on the pretext of giving garment factory jobs in Dhaka. Rather they were sent to Cox's Bazar, where their son Iman Hossain and daughter Pinky alias Brishti confined them in two hotels for 15 days and allegedly forced them into prostitution.

The victims returned to Sylhet after falling ill and shared the matter with their mother.

Later, they were admitted to the One-Stop Crisis Center (OCC) at Sylhet Osmani Medical College Hospital for treatment.

According to the victims, on 7 April, they travelled to Cox's Bazar with Shahnaz, initially staying at Iman's residence.

The next day, under the pretense of taking them to a garment factory, they were left at a residential hotel where they were locked up and subjected to abuse for 14 days, without any means of contacting their families.

The victims' families filed a general diary (GD) at Shahporan Police Station on 9 April after losing contact with them.

The traffickers then released the girls, warning them never to return to Cox's Bazar.