Raids in Jammu, Samba; one detained for questioning
*44 operatives held; Rs 20 lakh cash, US dollars seized
Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Nov 8: In a major crackdown on human trafficking, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) today conducted raids across 10 States and Union Territories including Jammu and Kashmir, busted five modules and apprehended 44 operatives.
Rohingyas including women from Myanmar were being sold, forcibly married and engaged as labourers at some places by the human traffickers after being smuggled from different areas, mostly Myanmar through Bangladesh border.
One such module was also active in Jammu and was reportedly involved in human trafficking in Vidhata Nagar at Bhatindi in Jammu district and Teli Basti in Bari Brahmana area of Samba district who has been detained for questioning.
He has been identified as Zaffar Alam son of Mohammad Nazir, a resident of Vidhata Nagar.
Sources said the modules comprised some Rohingyas who were actively involved in human trafficking after managing infiltration of people including women from Myanmar border in couple of States and then supplying them to “influential persons” at huge cost.
“Some of the women were forcibly married to elderly persons while youth were engaged as labourers,” they said, adding after conducting thorough investigations the NIA conducted raids and busted modules.
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A number of Rohingyas have been putting up at Bhatindi in Jammu and some parts of Samba district though many of them were detained and kept in Hiranagar Lodgement Centre about a couple of years back.
“There have been reports that not only human trafficking but Rohingyas from Myanmar are also involved in many other undesirable activities. In view of this, all security and Intelligence agencies have been keeping strict surveillance on them,” they said, adding that involvement of Rohingyas in anti-national activities is also under investigation.
An official statement by the NIA said that five modules engaged in human trafficking were busted and 44 operatives arrested as the NIA carried out nationwide raids today.
The raids were conducted in coordination with the Border Security Force and State police forces at 55 locations in eight States and two Union Territories to dismantle human trafficking support networks involved in the infiltration and settlement of illegal migrants across the Indo-Bangladesh border, the statement said.
The official said the searches were carried out in Jammu and Kashmir, Tripura, Assam, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Haryana, Rajasthan and the Union Territory of Puducherry, dealing a big blow to the human trafficking networks.
Of the 44 operatives arrested, 21 were in Tripura, followed by 10 in Karnataka, five in Assam, three in West Bengal, two in Tamil Nadu, and one each in Puducherry, Telangana and Haryana, the spokesperson said.
The NIA said the coordinated raids were executed across the country early today, leading to the recovery of various items of significance including digital devices, identity-related documents including Aadhaar and PAN cards (suspected to be forged), more than Rs 20 lakh in cash and foreign currency amounting to USD 4,550.
The simultaneous and synchronised raids and searches were carried out following the registration of four human trafficking cases in Guwahati, Chennai, Bengaluru and Jaipur, the statement said.
It said the initial case was registered on September 9 by the Assam Police’s Special Task Force (STF) and pertained to a human trafficking network responsible for the infiltration and settlement of illegal migrants across the Indo-Bangladesh border, including those of Rohingya origin.
The operations of this network extended into various parts of the country, the spokesperson said, adding recognising the international and inter-state linkages of the case and its complexity, the NIA formally took charge of the investigations on October 6.
The official said the investigations in the case revealed that different modules of this illegal human trafficking network were spread over various States, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir.
Based on these findings, the NIA registered three new cases to bust the modules of this extensive network based in different regions and States of the country, the official said.
Further investigations into the activities and modus operandi of these illegal human trafficking networks would continue to dismantle the entire ecosystem, the spokesperson said.
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