The National Investigation Agency (NIA), probing the human trafficking case in Bengaluru involving Bangladeshi nationals has filed a charge sheet against 13 illegal Bangladeshi immigrants in a special NIA court on Monday, September 6. The central agency has taken to its official Twitter handle to share the press release informing the same.
NIA files chargesheet against Thirteen accused persons in Human Trafficking Case of Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/0ScIaRv0r1
— NIA India (@NIA_India) September 6, 2021
In its statement, NIA said that the accused, namely, Rafik, Sobuj Shaik, Md Rafikdul Islam Ridoy, Rakibul Islam Ridoy, Md Babu Molla and others have been booked under sections 120B r/w 370, 120B r/w 370A (2), 343, 465, 469, 471 of the IPC, sections 14A (b) and 14C of the Foreigners act, 1946 sections 3, 4, 5, 6 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 in RC-16/2021/NIA/DLI.
The case was originally registered at Ramamurthy Nagar police station, Bengaluru city on June 8, 2021, after the police conducted a raid at a rented house at K Channasandra, Bengaluru, where seven women and one child of Bangladeshi Nationality were rescued from the custody of four human traffickers.
NIA takes over Bengaluru human trafficking case
The central agency had re-registered the case as RC-16/2021/NIA/DLI dated 13.07.2021 and taken over the investigation.
According to the investigation, the above thirteen charge-sheeted accused crossed into India illegally. With the prospect of jobs, they lured women from Bangladesh to India. The women were then imprisoned and sexually exploited in rented lodgings. The accused also faked identity cards in order to get Indian identity cards such as Aadhar cards, PAN cards, and so on, for themselves as well as their victims.
Bengaluru police jumps to action after video, where an illegally trafficked Bangladeshi woman was raped and tortured, went viral
The Ramamurthy Nagar police had unearthed the racket while investigating a case of torture and gang rape of a Bangladeshi woman in Bengaluru. A horrific video of the woman’s assault had gone viral on social media in May 2021, in which four men and a woman were seen sexually assaulting and torturing a young woman. The footage had caused outrage and police officials in several states were alerted to find the culprits.
According to the police, the victim, a Bangladeshi woman, was illegally trafficked to India under the pretext of a job and was later forced into prostitution. Although she was able to flee, the accused hunted her down. They then assaulted and gang-raped her with the help of their female aide.
The Bengaluru police had then arrested the two main accused – Shobuj Sheik and Rafiq, alias Rafsan have been arrested. Their associates Ridoy Babu, Rakibul Islam Sagar, Mohammed Babu Shaik, Hakil, Ajim, Jamal, Dalim, Nasrath, Kajal and Tanya, were also taken to custody.
In June 2021, one of the accused in the assault and gang rape of a Bangladeshi woman in Bengaluru was shot by the police after he tried to attack and escape from the police custody. The incident had come days after two of his accomplices were shot at and injured by the Bengaluru police during an escape attempt
