A 19-year-old Bangladeshi girl was rescued by the police on Monday after being brought to India by a “Facebook friend” on the promise of receiving proper treatment for her skin disease. However, she was forcibly pushed into prostitution at a brothel in Pune’s Budhwar Peth district.
An FIR has been registered in the case under the jurisdiction of the Faraskhana police station by Police Havaldar Reshma Kank of the Social Security Cell (SSC) of the Pune City police crime branch.
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In this case, the police have arrested the brothel keeper Lakhi, also known as Sweety Akbar Shaikh (34), under sections 370 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA). The victim’s apparent “Facebook friend,” who is, in reality, a woman working as a flesh trade agent, has been identified as Meena, also known as Seema, and is currently on the run.
Taking action based on leads, an SSC team led by Senior Police Inspector Bharat Jadhav and Assistant Inspectors Aniket Pote, Ashwini Patil, and Rajesh Malgave, raided the brothel operating from the “Begum building” in Budhwar Peth on Monday night.
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The police successfully rescued the 19-year-old Bangladeshi girl, who was forced into a sex racket at the brothel. It was later revealed that the victim had come in contact with Meena, also known as Seema, through “Facebook” a few months before.
The police stated that the victim was suffering from a skin disease and came to India for treatment. “The sex racketeer pretending to be a friend claimed to know a good doctor in India who could cure the victim’s skin disease. The victim agreed to come with her to India. Accordingly, about two months ago, the racketeer brought the victim from Bangladesh to Kolkata by a flight on a tourist visa. Then, from Kolkata, they came to Pune by another flight. The racketeer forced her into prostitution at the brothel in Budhwar Peth,” said Assistant Police Inspector Aniket Pote.
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“The rescued girl will be sent back to Bangladesh as per the legal procedure. We found her passport and other documents,” he added.
During the same raid, the police apprehended seven women believed to be from Bangladesh at a brothel. The police stated that these women entered India illegally by crossing the international border in West Bengal and were later coerced into the prostitution trade at the Begum building in Budhwar Peth.
A separate First Information Report (FIR) was filed against these seven Bangladeshi women under the Passport Act and Foreigners Act. According to the FIR, the accused women entered India without the necessary permissions and documents over the past four years. Further investigation is underway to determine how they crossed the India-Bangladesh border and made their way to Pune.
In a similar incident, the Pune city police apprehended seven more individuals from Bangladesh on September 12. Additionally, they successfully rescued a minor girl, also from Bangladesh, who had been lured to India with promises of a job at a beauty parlour.
“The agent had brought the girl to Kolkata by crossing the international river border between India and Bangladesh illegally on September 2. Then the agent sold the girl to another sex racketeer in Kolkata for Rs 2 lakhs. The racketeer further forced the girl into prostitution at a brothel in Pune,” said senior inspector Bharat Jadhav.
Furthermore, on September 1, the police arrested a total of 19 Bangladeshi nationals, including nine women, at a brothel in Budhwar Peth. It was discovered that all 19 individuals were acquainted with each other. They had entered India illegally about a month prior to their arrest. While the women were reportedly involved in prostitution in the Budhwar Peth area, the men were found to be working as street vendors selling various items in the same vicinity.
