Labour camps in Thiruvananthapuram district in Kerala are likely to come under the scanner, with the Assam police nabbing two migrants and rescuing nine others in the State capital during a joint operation held a day ago to bust an inter-State human trafficking racket.
Raids were conducted on the basis of a recent investigation in Hojai district in Assam. Several girls were suspected to have been trafficked from the northeastern State to Thiruvananthapuram at various points of time.
After zeroing in on the whereabouts of the two accused with assistance from the cyber cell here, an eight-member investigation team from Assam flew down and apprehended the racketeers from two lodges on Friday. They were assisted by a shadow police team deployed by the Thiruvananthapuram city police.
The accused were identified as Muffazul Haque and Rakbul Hussain, natives of Hojai and Nagaon districts respectively. The rescued women hailed from various places, including Hojai, Nagaon, Sonitpur, Morigaon and Kamrup. A few of them had been brought to Thiruvananthapuram a week ago, sources said.
Rescued from lodge
While most of the victims were rescued from a lodge in Thampanoor, three were found in another under the Medical College police station limits. Both lodges have been shut down and their have been absconding.
The Kerala Women’s Commission and the Social Justice Department were alerted of the development. The Assam natives were produced before a magistrate here to obtain transit warrant and were taken back to their native place on Saturday.
“Besides the racketeers and victims, the clientele are learnt to be migrant workers from the same State. It remains to be known if the gang received any local support,” an official said.
Several hundreds of migrant labourers are known to reside under the Thampanoor, Fort, Medical College, Sreekaryam and Kazhakuttam police station limits in Thiruvananthapuram city. Law enforcement agencies are bringing labour camps under close watch in an attempt to rein in illicit activities.
