A special court handling National Investigation Agency (NIA) cases in Hyderabad has sentenced nine people, including eight Bangladeshi nationals, to life imprisonment for their alleged involvement in a human trafficking network uncovered in 2019, the NIA said on Friday.
The convicted persons have been identified as Ruhul Amin Dhali (A2), Mohd Yousuf Khan alias Md Imran (A4), Bithi Begum alias Khadija Shaik (A5), Imamul Ghazi alias Mohd Rana Hussain (A6), Mohammed Al Mamun (A8), Sojib Shaik (A9), Suresh Kumar Das alias Sagor (A10), Mohd Abdulla Munshi alias Abdul Sarkar (A11), and Mohd Ayub Shaik (A12).
According to the NIA, the accused were part of a network that allegedly brought Bangladeshi women into India by promising them jobs and decent wages, before forcing them into prostitution.
The special court pronounced the sentence on Thursday and imposed a cumulative fine of ₹1.37 lakh on the nine convicts. The NIA said failure to pay the fine would result in an additional three months of simple imprisonment.
Case Dates Back to 2019 Police Operation
The case originated from an operation conducted by the Telangana Police in September 2019 at Jalpally village in Hyderabad.
During the operation, police rescued three Bangladeshi women from a brothel allegedly being operated in the area. Another woman was rescued from a house in Mahimood Colony, Balapur.
The subsequent investigation allegedly revealed an organised trafficking network involved in bringing Bangladeshi women into India on the promise of lucrative employment and better wages.
The women were allegedly trafficked into the country and subsequently forced into prostitution.
The Telangana Police initially registered a case at Pahadi Shareef police station in Hyderabad’s Old City. The NIA later took over the investigation and re-registered the case on October 12, 2019.
NIA Files Chargesheet Against 12 Accused
During its investigation, the NIA identified several people allegedly involved in the trafficking network.
The agency filed a chargesheet on October 17, 2020, against 12 accused persons. Three of them, including the alleged prime accused, identified as A1, remained absconding, according to the NIA.
Those arrested during the investigation were apprehended from different locations in Telangana and West Bengal between 2019 and 2020.
The accused were prosecuted under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956.
Nine Convicted and Sentenced to Life
The convictions came after a lengthy investigation and prosecution before the Hyderabad Special Court.
The case concerned the alleged trafficking of foreign nationals into India and their subsequent exploitation through forced prostitution.
The NIA said the court sentenced all nine convicted accused to life imprisonment and imposed a cumulative financial penalty of ₹1.37 lakh.
The agency said the court’s order marks the conclusion of the prosecution proceedings against the nine accused who were tried in the case, while the investigation and legal proceedings concerning other accused may continue.
