Tortured in India for ransom

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) yesterday said it has arrested three human traffickers who lured people with promises of lucrative jobs in Australia and Europe and trafficked them to India, where they were tortured in captivity for ransom.

Mollik Rezaul Haque alias Selim, 62; Bulbul Ahmed Mollik, 55; and Niranjan Pal, 51, were arrested on Monday from the capital's Pallabi and Uttara.

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Selim was the 'ringleader', while Mollik and Pal were his associates, said Mozammel Haque, commanding officer of Rab-4, told The Daily Star.

Fake passports, forged visas, applications and other documents relating to trafficking were found during their arrest.

The arrestees, who previously lived in the Middle East, Malaysia and Romania, admitted to trafficking more than 100 victims to India over the years, according to Haque.

Their gang is active at different places in Dhaka, Feni, Cumilla, Shariatpur and Madaripur.

They target people looking for jobs abroad. They would solicit Tk 12 to 15 lakh with the promise of jobs in Australia, the Netherlands or Portugal, Haque said.

The job seekers were taken to India by legal or illegal ways via road or air on the pretext that it was 'easier' to get a visa from India, Haque told The Daily Star.

Once the jobseekers reached India, the gang's members confined them in safe houses in Kolkata and Delhi, where they were tortured to realise ransom amounting to Tk 15 to Tk 20 lakh from each.

"The traffickers captured video of the torture while issuing death threats and sent the clips to the victims' family members to compel them to send the demanded ransom. Those who provided the money are released."

Pal had admitted sending three men -- Billal Hossain, Robin Hossain and Shaheen Khan of Nawabganj -- to India last year promising them to send to Portugal and Malta. They returned home from India after six months after paying a ransom.

However, an individual named Jahangir from Shariatpur was recently able to escape from their clutches and return home.

Jahangir informed Rab-4 of his ordeal, which began when he met Selim and Mollik in 2019. The duo demanded Tk 34 lakh for sending Jahangir to Australia and his nephew Akash to the Netherlands.

On October 10, 2019, Jahangir paid them Tk 14 lakh.

Then in December last year, the gang took Jahangir and Akash to India on forged visas and started torturing them in confinement. Their family paid the gang Tk 9.5 lakh more during confinement, where Akash remains.

Rab investigated the case and finally arrested the trio, who have five to seven other associates, Haque said.