BENGALURU: A gang of human traffickers has killed two individuals and disposed of their bodies, an investigation has revealed. On Saturday, a CID team from Punjab arrived in the city after the Anti-Human Trafficking Wing raided a house in Yelahanka and a lodge in Chikkajala and rescued eight Bangladeshi nationals.
Apart from Bangladesh, most of the other trafficked people — all men in their late 20s or early 30s — are said to be from Punjab.
An investigating officer from Ramanagara Rural police station said Surendra Pal Singh (34) was allegedly bludgeoned to death by the gang and his body was dumped in Padarahalli village in December 2017. A special CID team was formed in Punjab to look into his disappearance as Singh’s parents filed a missing person’s case in Punjab. The gang had allegedly abducted him near Kothanur before taking him to Ramanagara. It is suspected that the gang destroyed another victims’ identity proof.
They are checking with the city’s Bureau of Immigration to get details of the second person, who they suspect has been killed.
The police have nabbed an interstate gang. The accused are Mohamed Rehman, the kingpin, and his associates Rahul Mehra, Suneel Kejriwal (both from Mumbai), Mohamed Bilal Sharif (from Bangladesh) and Jaffar of Bengaluru.
The prime accused hails from Bangladesh and was settled in Mumbai. The gang targeted 150 people across India.
Four other accused were arrested by Ramanagara police for allegedly killing Surendra.
A senior police officer from Chikkajala police station said that the gang offered jobs to victims online in Poland, Canada and other countries. They asked the aspirants to get money for accommodation.
The aspirants were reportedly given dates to appear for interviews and the gang video-taped the interviews, which were sent to their families to show that they were being hired. Then, they allegedly locked them up in a room and harassed them. The gang allegedly took `26 lakh from the victims before taking away their passports and other valuables.
FOUR OF 8 RESCUED BANGLADESHIS IDENTIFIED
Four of the Bangladeshi nationals who were rescued have been identified as Sardar Hussain (27), Sunna Munchi (32), Mohemad Mushraf (26), and Shakil Afathur (29). They, along with four others, had come to Bengaluru two weeks ago but their passports were taken away by human traffickers.