Bangladeshi minor trafficked to India; Indian investigative agency charges 10
Investigators identified a couple based in Bangladesh as central figures in the operation
India's National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against 10 people in connection with the trafficking of a 17-year-old Bangladeshi girl who was brought to Odisha under the false promise of work and later forced into prostitution, according to details from the investigation.
The chargesheet, filed in the NIA's special court in Bhubaneswar, names 10 individuals, including two women. Six people were initially arrested by Cuttack police, while the NIA later detained two prime suspects - Amir Ali Shekh and Amal Krishna Mondal - from West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district. Two other accused remain at large, says Times of India.
Police said the investigation "revealed that the girl was trafficked from Bangladesh to Odisha under the false promise of employment but was subsequently coerced into prostitution". The minor was moved from Dhaka to Kolkata and then taken to Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Berhampur before being rescued in Cuttack.
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According to an NIA source, the accused exploited the financial distress of the victim's family, noting that the investigation showed "that the accused exploited the girl's family's financial difficulties to carry out their criminal activities". Another finding stated that the traffickers "forced her into prostitution".
The chargesheet names several alleged key operatives, including Veera Gujur Choudhary, 55, from Rajasthan, and Jasmine, 36, from Keonjhar, who "allegedly played a key role in forcing the girl into the sex trade".
The NIA said the trafficking network had international links. Investigators identified a couple based in Bangladesh as central figures in the operation. The agency found that Shekh and Mondal came under scrutiny due to their "online financial transactions with the couple" in Bangladesh.
Authorities also said Shekh was involved in foreign currency exchange, and during the arrests officers seized "a substantial amount of Indian, Bangladeshi and other foreign currencies, along with incriminating documents".
