Aizawl: Two 17-year-old girls from Mizoram were rescued from a suspected trafficking attempt in West Bengal, while a 61-year-old man from Ahmedabad was apprehended at the Panitanki border while allegedly taking one of them to Nepal for a job at a casino.The intervention took place on Sunday night, according to a statement issued by Kosi Lok Manch on Monday. The second girl was rescued later that night from the man’s residence in Siliguri.The first girl was intercepted at the Indo-Nepal border by Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel in coordination with Kosi Lok Manch, a partner organisation of Just Rights for Children (JRC), a child-protection network.During questioning, the girl said both her parents were dead and that she was being taken to Nepal for casino work. She said the man was a long-time friend of her parents. The man, however, gave a different account of how he knew her.He claimed to operate several spa centres in Mumbai and Pune and said a woman working at one of his establishments had introduced him to the girl, who was seeking employment.The girl and the man had reportedly been staying together for around a month. A search of his mobile phone allegedly revealed explicit photographs, videos and Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material involving minor girls, including material linked to the rescued girl.Further questioning led investigators to the man’s Siliguri residence, where the second girl was found at around 11 pm. She had reportedly been brought for work but was being kept at the house as a domestic helper. Her phone also allegedly contained explicit material involving minors.The team informed the Superintendent of Police and approached Bhakti Nagar police station before rescuing the second girl. The man was later formally apprehended with the assistance of authorities and taken into custody after the team returned to Panitanki.Police registered a case at Kharibari police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and the Information Technology Act.The girls were produced before the Child Welfare Committee after completion of the required police formalities.“Recent interventions along the Indo-Nepal border have revealed a worrying pattern in which young girls are being trafficked under the guise of employment or dance performances. The lack of clear information about their destination and proposed work makes such cases particularly concerning. Timely intervention by the SSB is critical in such situations to ensure that vulnerable girls do not fall into the hands of trafficking networks,” said Rishi Kant, National Secretary, Just Rights for Children.
