Mother willingly got trafficked to India to rescue daughter: Rab arrests 3 human traffickers

Rab today arrested three members of a gang, which allegedly trafficked more than 200 girls and women in India, including a mother and daughter whose story recently went viral on social media.

The arrestees are: Md Kalu alias Kallu (40), Md Sohag alias Nagin Sohag (32), and Billal Hossain (41).

A team of Rab-4 arrested them from Dhaka and Madaripur after the story of a mother rescuing her trafficked daughter from India went viral on social media, Khandaker Al Moin, Rab's Legal and Media wing director, told a press briefing at Rab Media Centre today.

The 17-year-old girl from Dhaka's Mirpur was lured with promises of a job in India but was sold at a brothel in Bihar in January this year.

As the mother came to know of her ordeal, she made attempts in various ways to get her back but failed.

Finally, to rescue her daughter, the mother communicated with the gang -- without disclosing her identity -- asking for a job in India, knowing that she was going to be trafficked like her daughter.

The mother was later trafficked to Delhi by the gang from where she fled. She later went to Bihar and, with the help of locals, rescued her daughter.

During primary interrogation, the arrestees admitted their crime.

They admitted that they used to lure girls from poor families in Dhaka's Mirpur and Gazipur with jobs in beauty parlours in the neighbouring country, Al Moin told reporters during the briefing.

The gang, having at least 25 members, used to traffic women in India through Satkhira border. Billal used to coordinate operations at the border, Sohag used to collect the victims and hand them over to Kalu, who is the mastermind, he said.

The girls were sold at the brothels in India, the Rab official said, adding the victims were kept confined in Billal's safe homes in Satkhira before being trafficked to India.   

Kalu, along with his accomplices, have so far trafficked around 200 girls and women in last eight to 10 years.

Sohag is Kalu's nephew and Billal was his key agent. Both Sohag and Billal have been involved in the trafficking racket for six years, the Rab official quoted the arrestees as saying.

The trio were earlier arrested for the same offence, he said, adding that families of many other victims contacted Rab for filing cases against them.