Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Agartala: A minor girl from Agartala is home today. She went missing on October 13 after a woman named Nishima Ben lured her to Bengaluru with promises of a film audition. The scheme was a trap. The girl told authorities she was pressured to pledge her gold chain to fund the trip. Yuvraj Chowdhury allegedly took the jewelry, gave her 30,000 rupees, and booked her flight. She took off at 12:45 pm.
Things went sideways immediately upon her arrival. Traffickers seized her phone, destroyed it, and ditched her SIM card to isolate her from her parents. She soon realized there was no film crew or production. She said, "He told me that there was no shooting taking place there and that this was the work I had to do." Her captors demanded ransoms from her family ranging from 2 lakh to 8 lakh rupees.
The victim named Nishima Ben, Yuvraj Chowdhury, Naveen Chowdhury, and Injamul Haque as the ringleaders. She claimed the brothers, Yuvraj and Naveen, were from Agartala and linked the group to an ashram. Her father spent days searching in Mumbai before a social activist named Sumit tracked the girl's location. He then flew to Bengaluru to meet with Nagesh of the Hindu Maha Sangathan.
The group found the girl roughly 90 kilometers from the Bengaluru airport. She was held alongside several other children. When the father secured his daughter, unknown men tried to intervene and reclaim the children. Volunteers shielded the family and ensured their escape. Social activist Khokan Chandra Paul confirmed the rescue, noting, "We closely tracked the girl's movements and whereabouts and coordinated all the necessary efforts. Following these efforts, we were able to rescue the girl two days ago." Chief Minister Manik Saha monitored the situation as officials continue to probe trafficking rings targeting minors in Tripura.
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