Cops arrest 3 members of Bedia community woman and sons for abducting teenaged girls from Sewri; suspect gang of flesh trade in the Gulf

The city police narrowly salvaged two teenaged girls from being forced into the flesh trade by a Bedia community member, in an operation that spanned several states and the last four days.

The matter assumes significance in light of the fact that an increasing number of minors have been enticed into prostitution over the past two years.


Beda Singh alias Monu and his brother Sagar Singh alias Sonu were arrested by the Sewri police from Agra and Delhi

Many are exported to Gulf countries, where human trafficking has become a sunrise industry for the Bedia tribe.

After Kushina Khatun Sheikh (13) and her elder sister, Pakhi (14) went missing from a neighbourhood in Sewri about four days ago, their father reported the matter to the Sewri police.

He suspected it could be the handiwork of Bano Singh (50), a neighbour who belonged to the Bedia tribe.

Indeed, Bano had escaped to Agra with the two girls, after promising them a luxurious life, as police would come to know in the course of their intricate investigations.

When Bano's family in Sewri did not divulge her whereabouts, said Senior Inspector Rajan Bhogale, the detection team managed to dig out the mobile number of Bano's elder son Monu, and put it under observation.

From recordings of the conversations tracked, officials learnt that the girl was held captive in a house in Agra.

A team of officers from Sewri police was dispatched to the city, where they launched a massive manhunt. They did make some headway when they traced Kushina and Bano, but Pakhi's whereabouts still eluded them.

Luckily for them, hours after the police arrested Bano and escorted Kushina back to Mumbai, Monu was also taken into custody.

But despite sustained interrogations, the mother-son duo did not reveal where Pakhi was.

Deputy Commissioner of Policeu00a0(Port Zone) Khalid Qaisar then decided to rely on technical intelligence. A detailed analysis of Monu's phone records indicated that several calls were made to him from a location in Old Delhi.

Monu finally broke down and told investigators it was the phone number of his younger brother, Sonu. He confessed that Pakhi was with Sonu but said he was not aware of the location.

A police team was flown to New Delhi with Monu in tow. Officers had already identified the mobile tower from where the calls were relayed to Mumbai, but didn't know how to zero in on Sonu.

Having no other choice, they paraded Monu in the neighbourhood in the hope that he would spot the brother.

And he did. Sonu was crossing the road, when Monu identified him. He was apprehended immediately. It did not take the police long to make Sonu lead them to where Pakhi had been caged.

The police returned to Mumbai yesterday with Sonu, Monu and Pakhi.

Gulf trade

Police sources informed that every year between 2,000 and 3,000 girls are made to migrate to Gulf countries, and specially Dubai, on a three-month contract with interested parties there. A majority of them are Bedia tribe girls, most of whom are minors.

They are lured from villages near Agra and Jaipur by offering them around Rs 1 lakh. They are trained for months before being forced into prostitution, officials disclosed.

In Dubai, they cater to up-market clientele. Insiders informed that the tribe spends around Rs 4 lakh and makes profits up to Rs 15 lakh, for every girl sent there.

The money finds its way to Mumbai using the hawala network. A large amount is siphoned off to pay corrupt officials and run underworld operations.

Pretty girls are also chosen from bars across Mumbai, and those who have been in the dance bars for a while are offered Rs 3 lakh for the trip abroad.

A senior officer attached to Sewri police station said that they are interrogating the three suspects to find out how many girls they kidnapped, and if the victims had been marked for the sex-trade in the Gulf.

Ek Cutting!
Number chadhana
In police parlance, this Hinglish phrase means keeping a mobile phone under observation, and tracking all conversations for clues to solving a case.

140
The number of cases registered with Mumbai police in connection with rape of minors in 2010, up from 128 in 2009.