Itanagar Police bust sex racket; rescues four minors trafficked from Assam

Itanagar, May 11: The Arunachal Pradesh Police rescued four girls who had reportedly been trafficked from Dhemaji in Assam and arrested 15 persons in connection with the case.

The victims were rescued during a raid on an alleged brothel in the vicinity of Chimpu in Itanagar.

The rescued minors, were forced into prostitution by the traffickers.

During the raid conducted at the residence of Techi Rina alias Ania, and Jamlo Tagung, the Itanagar police rescued the girls and arrested the alleged traffickers.

Besides Ania and Tagung, the police also arrested Pushpanjali Mili alias Tutu Mili, Purnima Mili, Pushpa Mandal, and Laxmi Gorh, who are all alleged traffickers.

Notably, the daughter of Tagung from his first marriage, was also rescued during the raid but was not forced into prostitution. She has been safely reunited with her mother.

Itanagar Superintendent of Police, Rohit Rajbir Singh, said that the traffickers operated through a beauty parlour named Pompi and Rosni Beauty Parlour in Vivek Vihar. They would lure girls from poor families in Dhemaji with promises of jobs in Itanagar, only to force them into prostitution upon arrival.

“Once the girls were brought to Itanagar, the two sisters, Pushpanjali and Purnima, with their network of procurers (pimps), including Ania, Tagung, and two others, namely Pushpa Mandal and Laxmi Gorh, would look for suitable customers through WhatsApp groups and other conventional channels,” the SP said.

Once a probable customer looking for minor girls was found, they would share the photos on WhatsApp, fix the rate, and then the girls would be driven to the customer by the husband of either Pushpanjali or Ania, who would have booked a hotel room, or the customer would come down to the residence of Ania or any other place of their choosing, the SP said.

“The customers would sexually assault the minor girls, pay the procurers, and leave. The money would be kept by the procurers, wherein at regular intervals they would take the minor girls shopping and buy them clothes and other items to lure them,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, through extensive investigation and the collection of overwhelming digital, financial, and physical evidence, the police have also managed to identify and arrest eight customers who “sexually assaulted minor girls.”

The arrested individuals are Rido Nime, a driver at RWD, Palin, Debia Tara an accountant at NRHM, Yupia, Michi Tabin a junior engineer at the RWD, Itanagar, Bamang Taya, a driver of Social Forestry Division, Itanagar, Sushil Seal, sales manager at Maruti Arena, Model Village, Takam Langdip, an assistant engineer at PWD Boleng, Neelam Mangha, former Pistana ZPM and Dr Senlar Ronya, deputy director of DHS.

The eight individuals were arrested between May 5 and 10.

SP Singh said the Itanagar Police has further identified the two hotels where the assailants had sexually assaulted the victim girls and arrested three persons, namely Jaya Tandi, manager of Centre Point Hotel, Ganga, as well as Tajum Ronya and Loknath Dahal, owner and manager of Marpi Hotel, Ganga, respectively.

“We’ve written to the authority concerned for cancellations of licenses of the said hotels and are also initiating legal action against the hotel managers/owners who had given the rooms to the assailants and pimps, being fully aware of the purpose for which the room was being booked,” the SP said.

The matter has been reported to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), leading to the registration of a case under relevant sections of the IPC, POCSO Act, and Immoral Trafficking Act.

“Efforts are underway to identify and arrest other individuals involved in the trafficking ring,” Singh said, while commending the entire police team for their efforts in rescuing the girls and apprehending the perpetrators.

The SP also expressed gratitude to all stakeholders for their support and assistance in combating human trafficking.