NIA uncovers explosive human trafficking racket: Bangladeshi women forced into sex trade across Odisha

Shocking revelations have emerged about the presence of Bangladeshi women in major cities of Odisha, including Bhubaneswar, who are allegedly being pushed into sex rackets by traffickers. Investigators have found that many of these women, despite lacking valid visas, are moving around with forged documents such as fake passports, Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, and even bank passbooks.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which is probing the racket, has already arrested two key traffickers—Amir Ali Sheikh and Amal Krishna Mondal—from North 24 Parganas in West Bengal. Both are believed to be part of a wider network trafficking women from Bangladesh into India. During raids, NIA seized large amounts of cash, foreign currency, multiple forged identity documents, and other incriminating materials.

Investigations revealed that the duo lured young women from Bangladesh on the pretext of offering them jobs but later forced them into prostitution across different Indian cities. The agency has termed the revelations 'explosive' and is preparing for a wider crackdown on the network.

A shocking revelation has come to light after the Bhubaneswar branch of NIA arrested the two notorious traffickers from West Bengal during a recent raid. Following their interrogation, the NIA obtained crucial leads on the presence of several Bangladeshi women in major cities of Odisha, including Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur, and Balasore. Sources suggest that the agency is preparing for large-scale raids in the coming days as part of its widened probe. Investigations reveal that the traffickers were planning to exploit these women to rake in huge profits during the festive season.

The case first surfaced in November 2024, when a Bangladeshi minor girl was rescued from Cuttack’s Madhupatna area. Soon after, another young Bangladeshi woman came forward and exposed the grim reality of the racket—how women were being forced into sex work, subjected to brutal assaults if they resisted, and pushed deeper into illegal activities.

Further probes also uncovered photographs of Bangladeshi women allegedly engaged in the sex trade while staying illegally in various parts of the Twin Cities (Cuttack and Bhubaneswar). This led to an FIR at Madhupatna police station, following which local police launched a series of raids.

Later, the case was handed over to the NIA, which traced the links of the operation to an international trafficking racket. After the NIA’s probe, action is now expected against brokers involved in sex rackets and human trafficking operating across the state and the country. 

"I have come here from the Bangladesh border. I was brought here by Didi (Ruksana Begam). I am paid Rs 2,000 per work," said a Bangladeshi woman.

"There cannot be only these two persons in the racket. It must be a bigger racket, and many other persons must be involved in it. Effort should be made to arrest all the persons involved in the racket and stop it completely," said former police official Sarat Sahu.

From the digital devices seized from the arrested brokers, the NIA has found links to several businessmen, politicians, and influential figures, leading to the ongoing investigation. Additionally, route maps showing how Bangladeshi nationals were being brought into Odisha have been recovered from the mobile phones of the two arrested brokers.