9 Sentenced To Life Imprisonment In Hyderabad Human Trafficking Case

A special court in Hyderabad handling National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases has sentenced nine people, including eight Bangladeshi nationals, to life imprisonment for their involvement in a human trafficking network that operated in 2019, the NIA said on Friday.

The court also imposed a cumulative fine of ₹1.37 lakh on the nine convicts. In case of non-payment, they will have to undergo an additional three months of simple imprisonment, according to the agency.

The convicted persons were identified as Ruhul Amin Dhali (A2), Mohd Yousuf Khan alias Md Imran (A4), Bithi Begum alias Khadija Shaik (A5), Imamul Ghazi alias Mohd Rana Hussain (A6), Mohammed Al Mamun (A8), Sojib Shaik (A9), Suresh Kumar Das alias Sagor (A10), Mohd Abdulla Munshi alias Abdul Sarkar (A11), and Mohd Ayub Shaik (A12).

According to the NIA, the accused were part of a trafficking network that brought Bangladeshi women into India on the promise of lucrative employment and decent wages before allegedly forcing them into prostitution.

The case began after a Telangana Police operation in September 2019 at Jalpally village in Hyderabad, during which three Bangladeshi women were rescued from a brothel allegedly operating in the area. Another woman was rescued from a house in Mahimood Colony, Balapur.

The investigation allegedly uncovered an organised network involved in trafficking Bangladeshi women into India and exploiting them through forced prostitution.

The Telangana Police initially registered a case at Pahadi Shareef police station in Hyderabad. The NIA later took over the investigation and re-registered the case on October 12, 2019.

During its probe, the agency identified several people allegedly linked to the trafficking network and filed a chargesheet against 12 accused on October 17, 2020. Three accused, including the alleged prime accused, remained absconding.

Those arrested during the investigation were apprehended from various locations in Telangana and West Bengal between 2019 and 2020.

The accused were prosecuted under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.

The Hyderabad Special Court passed the conviction order on Thursday, bringing the prosecution of the nine arrested accused to a conclusion with life imprisonment and the financial penalty, the NIA said.