Two sisters from Bangladesh, who had been forced into prostitution in the Indian city of Pune, were rescued by Pune Police in a special operation, following a specific request to the Indian government by Dhaka, The Times of India reported on Sunday. The sisters, both minors, belonging to well-off families, were abducted by pimps in Bangladesh and sold off in Pune about one-and-half-month ago.
The social security cell of the crime branch swung into action soon after the central agencies instructed city police commissioner Gulabrao Pol to trace the girls as soon as possible.
Five more girls, including four minors from Bangladesh and another from Kolkata, were also rescued during the 14-hour operation, which started around 7:30pm on Friday.
While one of the sisters was rescued from a brothel in Budhwar Peth, the other was found at a row house in Undri, Kondhwa.
Seven suspects, including three women, were arrested under relevant sections of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA).
Senior inspector Bhanupratap Barge, who led the operation, said that the police team first raided a brothel at Shalukarbol in Budhwar Peth and rescued four minor Bangladeshi girls, but they did not include the two sisters. “Brothel manager Pinki Nilgopal Das was arrested. We raided another brothel at Chandni building at the same area, rescued one more minor girl and arrested brothel owner Anita Rambahadur Thapa,” he said.
The police raids continued as the two sisters were yet to be found, Barge said. “We raided another brothel at Tulsi building and rescued one of the sisters, aged 15, along with two other minor girls. Shiva Vichare of Kolhapur and Taniya Vyapari of Budhwar Peth were arrested from the spot,” he said.
“Taniya told police that the older sister, aged 17, was sold to Vilas Kasle, a sex racketeer, in Hadapsar area, following which he was arrested.
Acting on information given by Vilas, a row house was raided in Undri and the girl was rescued,” said Barge.
Vilas’s brother Ravi Kasle and his aide Vishal Kumar Khopde of Phursungi were arrested from the row house.
“Police have got clues about the kingpin of the racket, who has been identified as Rocky. He brings girls to Kolkata by making false promises crossing the international border by boat. We suspect that he is involved in selling around 40 such girls from Bangladesh to sex racketeers in India. We have passed on the information about his whereabouts to Bangladesh,” said Barge.
Police said, the five Bangladeshi girls, who were rescued along with the two sisters, were also lured with marriage and job promises by agents who sold them at brothels in Pune and other cities. Police are looking for six more suspects in the case.
The city police have rescued 50 Bangladeshi girls who had been forced into prostitution in Pune since 2011.
-With The Independent input
