Two teenage girls from South 24-Parganas rescued in Bihar
Telegraph | 29 May 2023
Two teenaged girls, reported missing from their home in South 24-Parganas earlier this month, were traced to a village in Chapra, Bihar.
A woman in her late 20s, who allegedly engaged the girls in her orchestra as dancers in the Victoria Bazar area of Madhura in Chapra, has been arrested.
Police said Mampi Roy, known as Kajal in Bihar's dancing circuit, is from the Bansdroni area in Calcutta. She was produced before Baruipur court on Friday and remanded in judicial custody till June 9.
"The girls were lured with a promise of quick money and a decent life. They have been rescued and put up in a home," a district police officer said.
The police registered two separate missing cases on May 4 and 5. Both complainants told the police they had last seen their daughter with a young man.
"Over the next fortnight, we contacted several persons known to deal with trafficked girls across parts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh. We received a few videos that showed the missing girls dancing in Chapra," said Rijuj Jaman Hossain, investigating officer of the case. "The next day we left for Chapra."
The police said Roy had moved to Chapra a few years ago and has an Aadhaar card with a Chapra address.
The young man the complainants told the cops about had allegedly sold the teenagers to Roy, who began grooming them to be dancers, an officer said.
A teenager makes between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,500 per dance performance, Roy told the police. She also told the cops several teenagers from parts of Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal were part of her orchestra group.
Officers of the anti-human trafficking unit of Baruipur police district said among the missing complaints received at police stations, a significant number are about trafficked teens. An even bigger number remains unreported with parents refusing to seek police help.
"Baruipur, Canning I and II and Joynagar are some of the most vulnerable blocks of the South 24-Parganas district where cases of human trafficking are reported," said a senior officer. "We hope to round up the absconding young man in this case."