BENGALURU: Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths cracked a human trafficking case and arrested a 40-year-old Nepali national for operating a bonded labour racket. The accused would lure job aspirants from Nepal and send them to Maldives to work as bonded labourers.
The kingpin, R P Sharma, lives in Colombo and was in constant touch with the accused. He assisted in sending the labourers to several countries illegally. The arrested has been identified as Shambu Babu Giri, (40), from Nepal and he was assisted by few other brokers. The police are making efforts to nab them based on the information provided by Giri.
The victims have been identified as Ghanashyam Bhujel, (31), Krishna Bahadur Bhijel, (27), Min Bahadur, (28), Padam Bahadur, (38), Jalak Kunwar, (21), Manoj Kumar Sardar, (37) Rajkumar Bal, (26), Surendra Rimal, (3) and Bikash Shreshta, (30).
A senior police officer said that based on a tip-off, a special team conducted a raid on a lodge at Chikkajala police station limits, and nine of the victims were rescued. During the interrogation Giri said he took Rs 3 to 3.5 lakh from each, assuring them jobs in five star hotels in Maldives. The accused would send the victims on tourist VISA and were asked to to live in hotels for a while. After a few days fake work permit documents were created to show to local authorities. Giri would send two men a week via Colombo.
“The prime accused, R P Sharma, who runs the racket had a network in Delhi and Bengaluru, and a case has been filed against the duo. A special team has been formed to nab Sharma,” the police officer added.