Six persons have been awarded 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment for trafficking three women and a minor to Rajasthan by making false promises of getting them jobs in a district in Bengal.
The 17-year-old minor, whose mother was the first to raise the alarm and report the matter to Jhargram police, was taken to a hotel in Digha and allegedly raped by multiple persons before being sold to a “buyer” for Rs 3,000.
The man who paid the money took the girl to Rajasthan with the aim to force her into prostitution, the police submitted in the court.
Once the complaint was lodged in September 2022, officers of the Jhargram police district swung into action and zeroed in on one of the accused with the help of his “peculiar” haircut that gave him away.
The superintendent of police, Jhargram, Arijit Sinha said: “Other than a photograph of one of the suspects, we had no clue about the identity of the racketeers. This man had a peculiar haircut. We scanned all the salons in the entire jurisdiction and questioned all the barbers. One of them identified the man. This helped us crack the case.”
The case was probed by a special investigation team led by the superintendent of police, Jhargram.
The police scanned the phone numbers in the minor's call record to identify the men and the women who were members of the racket.
The minor and the other women were rescued from Billara in Rajasthan by a team of officers and brought back to their hometown.
The police had filed a chargesheet in court in January 2023. The additional district and sessions judge, 1st court, Jhargram, announced the judgment on Wednesday. The accused six were declared guilty.
The quantum of punishment — 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment — was declared on Thursday.
The six men and women have been convicted under the Indian Penal Code charges related to human trafficking, kidnapping, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy.
According to records, hundreds of women and children are trafficked every year, mostly by people who are either known to them or those who befriend them with the lure of money or relationships.
“In this case, too, the accused lured the victims, who are from poor families, with the promise of a job,” said a senior police officer.