Horror in Palghar: Bangladeshi Teen Rescued from Traffickers Says She Was Abused
MUMBAI, India – August 12, 2025: A 14-year-old girl from Bangladesh is safe now after being saved from a sex trafficking ring in Palghar district, Maharashtra. The rescue happened because the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Police’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) teamed up with some charities. In her story, the girl said she was sexually abused by around 200 men for three months after being brought to India. Police caught ten people who they think were involved in this big operation that stretches across several states in India.
How the Rescue Went Down
The cops got a tip-off from Exodus Road India Foundation and Harmony Foundation, two charities. On July 26, 2025, they raided an apartment in Naigaon, Vasai, and found five women who had been trafficked. Three of them, including the young girl, were from Bangladesh. So far, ten people are in custody, and the police are looking for more. The main guy they arrested is Mohammad Khalid Abdul Bapari, who’s 33. They also arrested Juber Harun Sheikh, 38, and Shamim Gafar Sardar, 39, who they say got people involved. Two women, 33 and 32, who reportedly helped the girl enter India illegally, were also arrested.
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The Girl’s Story
The girl told her story at a juvenile center. She said she ran away from her home in Bangladesh because she was scared of her parents after failing a subject in school. A woman she knew took her in, but instead of helping, she got her into India illegally. First, she was taken to Nadiad in Gujarat, where she says she suffered terrible sexual abuse. The police are checking her claim that about 200 men abused her over three months. If that’s true, it shows just how big and awful this trafficking ring is.
A Big Trafficking Operation
The police found out that this sex trafficking ring is huge and well-organized. The victims were taken to different cities in India, like Navi Mumbai, Pune, Gujarat, and Karnataka. This means the criminals have a way to move people across state lines, which makes it hard to find and stop them. Also, the girl said she was given drugs and burned with a hot spoon to force her to do what they wanted. This shows how violent and cruel these traffickers are.
Human Trafficking in South Asia
This case shows how bad human trafficking is, especially when it comes to women and kids from Bangladesh being brought into India. The big reason this happens is that young people from poor areas are easily tricked. Traffickers often promise them jobs, marriage, or a better life to lure them in. The border between Bangladesh and India is easy to cross, especially in West Bengal, and that’s where many victims enter. These trafficking groups often work in different countries, with people on both sides of the border. They take advantage of poverty, people not knowing their rights, and weak law enforcement.
What Officials and Charities Are Doing
The MBVV Police Commissioner, Niket Kaushik, said the police are doing everything they can to find everyone involved and make sure young people are safe. They’ve sent teams to different places to arrest other suspects. Abraham Mathai, who started the Harmony Foundation, a key charity in the rescue, wants everyone who abused the girl arrested. He pointed out that this isn’t the only case and that every time someone is rescued, it’s a reminder that those who should have protected her failed her first, and then society only reacted when it was too late.
The Laws and What They Mean
The people arrested have been charged under different laws, including the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, the Juvenile Justice Act, the Foreigners Act, and the Passport Act. These laws show how complex this crime is, involving sexual abuse, illegal entry, and human trafficking. This case is a stark reminder that we need better border security, more cooperation between international police, and better programs to help the victims recover. We need to stop trafficking before it starts, protect children, and hold everyone who does this accountable.
