Hyderabad: What began as a promise of livelihood ended in a nightmare, as a young woman from Bangladesh, hoping to support her struggling family, was lured by a trafficker with the promise of a job in a beauty parlour in India. Hoping for a better livelihood, she crossed the international border in West Bengal and reached Maharashtra's Pune with fake identity documents, relying on the agent. Instead, she was sold for just Rs 20,000 into a prostitution racket.
Later, she escaped with the help of a woman and reached Hyderabad, only to be pushed into the same pit again. Her ordeal came to light during a routine police check, exposing a wider trafficking network preying on vulnerable Bangladeshi women.
Investigations have revealed that several young women from Bangladesh, driven by poverty and unemployment, are falling into the hands of middlemen who exploit their desperation. Of the 20 foreign women recently rescued in Hyderabad, most shared a similar ordeal, lured with promises of respectable jobs, only to be sold into the sex trade.
Agents in Bangladesh, operating in cahoots with their counterparts in Bengal and the northeastern states, have set up an underground pipeline for trafficking. Victims are sneaked into India through porous borders in Tripura, Assam and West Bengal, and sold to brothel managers for Rs 25,000 to Rs 1 lakh per person.
The traffickers operate with chilling efficiency. First, photographs of the victims are sent in advance to determine their "price." Once selected, they are transported to cities like Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Surat, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai and Coimbatore.
The agents get a commission of Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 per victim. Then, the women are placed in beauty parlours, spa centres, hotels and apartments. Their locations are changed daily to evade law enforcement agencies. While some women try to escape, they often find themselves lost in unfamiliar cities, with no resources or contacts. Out of desperation, many return to the very agents who sold them, perpetuating the cycle of abuse.
Police officials say spa centres and other commercial fronts are being used as a cover for these illegal activities. Based on leads from the recent arrests, authorities have intensified their investigation to trace the core traffickers and dismantle the interstate network.
The situation highlights a growing concern about human trafficking and the need for stronger border security, international cooperation and round-the-clock monitoring of urban commercial establishments. Police are urging citizens and local businesses to report suspicious activities, while also working with NGOs to provide rehabilitation support for the victims who have been rescued.
Also Read:
