ABDUCTED; SOLD; RESCUED Interstate Human Trafficking Gang Busted

In a joint operation spread over four states, a team of Special Task Force, South District, which was tasked to assist a team of Assam Police, not only ensured that the abducted lady being searched for by Assam Police was released but also, in the process, rescued two other abducted females from the clutches of an inter-state human trafficking syndicate.

In this joint operation, 2 human traffickers namely (1) Altaf, aged 28 yrs, s/o Kayum, r/o near Railway Phatak, Guldhar, Ghaziabad; permanent address - Thana Road, Pyari Mohalla, Jehanabad, Bihar and (2) Ram Kesh @ Kishan, aged 30 yrs, s/o Sati Ram, r/o Near Railway Phatak, Guldhar, Ghaziabad; permanent address - Village Malapurba, PO Shiv Pur, P/S Maharaj Ganj, District Azamgarh, UP have been arrested. The mobile phone and laptop of the abducted lady of Assam has been recovered.

Brief facts:

A team of Assam Police had approached the DCP South District Office seeking assistance in the investigation of case FIR No. 117/17, dated 05/05/2017, u/s 366 IPC, PS Kampur, District Nagaon, Assam wherein an Assamese lady had been reportedly abducted by unknown persons. Seeing the sensitivity of the case, the STF/SD was instructed to assist the Assam Police led by SI Moly Acharaya of PS Kampur, Nagaon, Assam.  A team of STF/SD consisting of Inspector Proshun, ASI Jitender, HC Narender, Cts. Sandeep, Satish, Naveen, Vikash, Manoj, Sonu and Roshan, under the supervision of Shri Palwinder Singh Chahal, ACP/Operations, South District started working on the case. During operation, through intensive technical analysis, accused Altaf and Ram Kesh @ Kishan were identified as being the front operators of this trafficking syndicate. The two accused were apprehended and subjected to sustained interrogation. When confronted with irrefutable technical evidence, the accused persons admitted to their crime and disclosed that they had abducted the missing Assamese lady from New Delhi Railway Station and had, thereafter, sold her off to other members of this syndicate namely one Payal and Sunil Jha, who had been operating from Munirka in Vasant Vihar area.

The accused further disclosed that over the past few months, acting in concert, they had abducted several vulnerable ladies from various Railway Stations of Delhi for onward sale to Haryana based traffickers. Following up on this disclosure, the joint team, along with NGO Shakti Vahini, went to Kalanour, Rohtak, Haryana from where, two more abducted females, one resident of Kolkata, West Bengal and the other, a minor and resident of Bhagalpur, Bihar, were rescued. These two victims were handed over to CAWC, Rohtak for further necessary action.

Continuing the search for the abducted Assamese lady, the team intensified efforts to locate absconding Sunil Jha. Once definite technical parameters concerning this shady trafficker were ascertained, it got known that through a chain of couriers, the victim had been taken from Delhi to Bikaner and onwards to Jodhpur in Rajasthan. As the team proceeded to Jodhpur with informants, seeing no escape for their cruel and inhuman misdeed, the abductors panicked and made the Assamese victim board a train to Guwahati, Assam. When the team was still developing local intelligence in Jodhpur, the hugely relieving news of the victims' arrival and unification with her family back in Assam was received.

In Assam, the Assam Police got the victims' statement recorded u/s 164 CrPC wherein she has disclosed the entire modus operandi of this inter-state syndicate and spelled out the roles being played by various actors. On the basis of the statement given by the victim in Assam, the IO from Nagaon arrested the two accused mentioned above and after production before the Court, their transit remand for Assam has been obtained. From the possession of the arrested accused, the mobile phone and laptop belonging to the abducted Assamese victim have been recovered.

Profile of Arrested Accused:

1. Altaf is a school dropout, came to Delhi about 8 years ago and started working as a Zari karigar (embroidery worker). He came in contact with co-accused Kishan who lured him into the syndicate of human traffickers and for a long time, he has been an active member of this gang.

2. Ram Kesh @ Kishan has studied up to 10th class at his native village. He came to Delhi, a couple of years ago and started working as a welder. At New Delhi Railway Station, he became friends with one Dilip, who was involved in human trafficking. Dilip further introduced him to Payal and Sunil Jha. They all joined hands and soon, started trafficking girls to various cities in Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, etc. for forced marriages and prostitution.