NIA chargesheets 8 more in human trafficking of Bangladeshis and Rohingyas

Guwahati, June 24: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday charge-sheeted eight more accused in a case relating to the trafficking of Bangladeshi nationals and Rohingyas through the Indo-Bangladesh border as part of a transnational racket.

The agency, in its supplementary chargesheet filed on Monday, has named absconders Jalil Miah, Hanan Miah, Kajal Sarkar, Adhir Das and Anwar Hussain Mama; all of whom were reported to have been operating from the north-eastern state of Tripura.

Others charge-sheeted have been identified as absconders Kamal Das, brother of charge-sheeted accused Amol Chandra Das, who was operating from Silchar, besides West Bengal-based Liton Chakraborty. The eighth accused is Bangladeshi national Rabiyl Hasan.

As per NIA investigations, Liton Chakraborty was engaged in preparing Indian ID documents for the Bangladeshi nationals on fake or forged supporting documents and certificates through clandestine means. Rabiyl Hasan was found to be well connected with the arrested accused in Assam, West Bengal, Tripura, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

NIA had earlier filed a chargesheet against 24 Bangladeshi nationals under IPC, Foreigners Act and Passport (Entry into India) Act. The NIA is still conducting it’s search for the absconders and other suspects in the case RC-01/2023/NIA-GUW, which has exposed a massive network of transnational human trafficking operated by various facilitators, touts and traffickers in Assam, Tripura, West Bengal and Bangladesh.

This probe has revealed a strong nexus between all such operatives.

As per investigations by the agency, which registered the case in October 2023, the trafficked individuals were being forced into hard labor on low wages and exploited under threat of arrest by the police. The Assam Special Task Force (STF) originally registered the case in September 2023.