New Delhi [India], April 9 : A special court of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday convicted and sentenced four Bangladeshis in a transnational human trafficking case.
The accused - Zakir Khan, Badal Houladar, Kabir Talukdar and Mohammed Bachchu Gharami - have been sentenced to 3 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) by the NIA special court at Bengaluru (Karnataka). They have also been fined Rs 20,000 each, and will have to undergo another one month in jail in case of default of payment as per the sentence passed under relevant provisions of Foreigner's Act and Passports (Entry into India) Act.
The accused had earlier pleaded guilty for illegally entering India from Bangladesh via Benapole, Jashore and Akhaura. They had obtained Indian identity documents fraudulently and were engaged in waste segregation business in the suburbs of Bengaluru city. The accused had also employed other trafficked Bangladeshi nationals in their business unit, NIA investigation has revealed.
NIA further found that the accused had taken land on lease in Bengaluru and set up sheds for accommodating trafficked victims of Bangladeshi nationality.
The case was registered suo motu by NIA in November 2023 after it busted a cross-border human trafficking racket on the basis of intelligence and meticulous tracking.
Subsequently, NIA conducted an intensive nationwide search, leading to the arrest of 12 accused persons, from whom Bangladeshi identity documents were seized along with digital devices, as well as fraudulently obtained Indian identity documents and Indian currency.
NIA had chargesheeted the accused in February 2024 and also arrested two more accused in May 2024.
NIA is continuing with its investigations with focus on dismantling the cross-border crime module to ensure that all perpetrators are brought to justice.