3 Bangladesh girls, two Indians arrested in Tripura for human trafficking

Three Bangladeshi girls and two Indians were arrested in Tripura’s Sepahijala district for their alleged involvement in human trafficking, police said on Thursday.

While the three Bangladeshi girls were arrested from Bhabhanipur and Kalikrishnanagar under Jatrapura police station on Wednesday, the two Indians were picked up from Kalikrishnanagar on Thursday, police added.

Acting on a tip-off regarding suspicious movement of a girl along the Indo-Bangla border, police on Wednesday apprehended Swapna Akhtar of Dhaka, in Bhabhanipur. Jatrapura police station OC Subrata Debnath said Swapna initially claimed to be an Indian citizen and presented a fake Aadhaar card, leading to her arrest for illegally entering India.

The next day, two more girls — Meem (20) and Riya Akhtar (18), also from Dhaka — were arrested in Kalikrishnanagar, close to the border. During questioning, they admitted to crossing into India three days earlier and seeking refuge at the home of Awesha Begum in Kalikrishnanagar, police said.

They revealed that Abul Kalam, who helped them enter the country, hid them at his mother-in-law’s residence. The OC said both Abul Kalam and his mother-in-law appear to be directly involved in trafficking.