HANAMKONDA: The Warangal police arrested five persons involved in a human trafficking racket on Tuesday.
Speaking to the media, Commissioner of Police (CP) Sunpreet Singh stated that the case came to light after a missing complaint was filed at Mills Colony Police Station.
During the investigation, the police traced the kidnapped minor girl near Mulugu ‘X’ roads. Upon questioning, the victim revealed that she had been abducted by a group of individuals who forced her to consume ganja and then sexually assaulted her. Following this, the CP formed three teams to apprehend the accused.
The investigation identified the prime accused as Musku Latha, a resident of Lyadella village in Damera mandal. Latha, who was allegedly involved in organising prostitution, had taken in the minor girl after her parents passed away. She conspired to lure young girls into prostitution, believing she could earn more money from clients. Her initial attempt to trap a friend of the minor girl from Warangal city failed.
Later Latha targeted another minor girl whom she had met through a mutual acquaintance. The accused contacted the victim via social media and gradually gained her trust through friendly conversations.
Over the time, she lured the victim out of her school on multiple occasions, introducing her to alcohol and ganja with the help of her boyfriend, Abdul Afnan, a resident of the Shambunipet area in Warangal. To further gain her trust, they took her shopping and introduced her to luxurious lifestyle.
On the evening of March 11, Latha lured the minor girl out of her house. Along with her boyfriend Abdul Afnan and their associates — Shaik Sailani Baba and Mohammed Altaf, both residents of Shambunipet — they kidnapped the victim in a car. They then purchased ganja from their regular supplier, Mirza Faiz Beg alias Wadood, and took the victim to an abandoned house near Narsampet, owned by Shail Sailani Baba’s grandfather.
When the victim was intoxicated, Sheikh Sailani Baba sexually assaulted her multiple times. Although no videos were recorded, the accused threatened the victim, claiming they had the footage and would leak it on social media if she refused to comply or disclosed the incident. The next day, they dropped the victim near Mulugu ‘X’ roads and fled.
The accused were booked under the NDPS Act, POCSO Act and Immoral Trafficking Act.