Kolkata: A team of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) officers rescued seven Nepali women, including a minor, from alleged human traffickers at Panitanki Market near Border Pillar 90 on Friday evening. Initial investigation revealed that the traffickers had created fake Indian IDs for these women and had promised them lucrative jobs in Hong Kong.
The quick response team of the 41st Battalion's ‘C' Company apprehended two suspects — one from Darjeeling and another from Nepal — following a tip. They were caught just 150 metres from the international border around 5pm.
SSB sources said the traffickers charged Rs 3 lakh per person for arranging travel documents and transportation to Hong Kong. "The suspects were planning to obtain Aadhaar, PAN cards and passports for these women using forged documents," said a senior SSB official. The rescued women, aged between 16 and 21 years, were all from Sankhuwasabha district in Nepal.
The official said the main suspect was 61-year-old Japan Gurung, alias Dada, of Nepal. He collected advance payments from the women's families. Photographs and fake documents found on his mobile phone suggested his involvement in a large human trafficking network. "He promised the victims' parents that the women would be given lucrative jobs in Hong Kong. He was taking the women to Siliguri to create Indian IDs for them," the officer added.
Japan's Indian accomplice was Dipesh Gurung from Darjeeling. "Dipesh is a taxi driver. His main work is to take women to Siliguri to obtain fake IDs. He has been doing this for the past two to three years," the officer said, adding that Japan had taken many Nepali women to Delhi, Assam and other parts of India before this.
The rescued women underwent a medical examination and, along with the suspects, were handed over to the Kharibari Police. The suspects were charged under relevant sections of the BNS and the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act.