NIA conducts raids in Karnataka over human trafficking case involving Bangladesh nationals

The National Investigative Agency (NIA) on August 7 conducted raids in several locations of Karnataka, including Bengaluru City, over a human trafficking case. The searches were held to detain suspects making fake ID proof documents for the Bangladeshi traffickers and the trafficked victims. This comes a day after reports of GRP arresting five people, including three Indian intermediaries and two Bangladesh nationals, in connection with a case surfaced.

"13 accused persons relating to a raid conducted by Karnataka Police at a rented house where 7 Bangladeshi women and one child were rescued from the custody of human traffickers. The women were trafficked from Bangladesh to India by accused persons on the pretext of providing jobs in India but were forced into prostitution instead," added an official statement. 

A case has been registered in June this year at Ramamurthy Nagar Police Station following a gang rape and torture of a Bangladeshi woman in the city. While investigating the case, the police discovered a human trafficking racket behind this. The case was again re-registered by the Central Agency in July under the Foreigners Act. While further details are awaited, it has been officially mentioned that various incriminating documents, six digital devices, including hard disks and mobile phones used for making the forged documents, were seized during the raids. 

BSF thwarts drug-supplying operation

The Border Security Force (BSF), on July 6, thwarted an attempt to smuggle drugs and seized 25 kg of cannabis. The drug was being smuggled from India to Bangladesh. The BSF's 75th Battalion stationed at the Border Outpost (BOP) Satbhandari under Guwahati frontier foiled the smuggling attempt. The BSF troops conducted a special operation on early Friday based on information from sources. BSF said in a statement, "The security personnel foiled the attempt of drug and seized 25 kg cannabis, which was being smuggled from India to Bangladesh on August 6.”

India-Bangladesh border

India and Bangladesh share an international border of 4,096 km long, which is the fifth-longest land border in the world. The border is distributed as 263 km in Assam, 856 km in Tripura, 318 km in Mizoram, 443 km in Meghalaya, and 2,217 km in West Bengal. Out of Assam’s 263 km of shared border with Bangladesh, 143.9 km is land, and the rest are riverine. The border between India and Bangladesh is prone to smuggling. 

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