Hyderabad Police have busted an immoral trafficking racket and arrested three individuals for allegedly smuggling a young Bangladeshi woman into India and forcing her into prostitution.
The case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA) at Bandlaguda Police Station, after the survivor approached authorities on August 8.
The arrested have been identified as:
Hajera Begum (41) – a housewife from Ismail Nagar, Bandlaguda
Shahnaaz Fathima (32) – an orchestra dancer from Murad Nagar, Mehdipatnam
Mohammed Sameer (23) – an auto driver from Hafez Baba Nagar, Kanchan Bagh
The absconding accused are:
Rupa – a native of Dhaka, Bangladesh
Sarwar – a resident of Hyderabad
In February 2025, the survivor was allegedly lured by her neighbor Rupa, who promised her a trip to India. She was smuggled into the country by boat at night, posing as Rupa’s daughter, and first taken to Kolkata, before being moved to Hyderabad by train.
There, she was handed over to Shahnaaz and later to Hajera, who revealed the real intention — forcing her into sex work. The woman was threatened with arrest for illegal entry and kept in various hotels and residences for the next six months.
On August 8, while being taken to a hotel, the survivor saw a police station signboard and escaped while Sameer was parking his auto. She ran to Bandlaguda Police Station and reported the crime.
Police raided locations in Mehdipatnam and rescued three more women, also allegedly brought from West Bengal by Sarwar. The arrested trio was produced in court and remanded to judicial custody, while the rescued women were shifted to a rescue home.
Efforts are ongoing to track and arrest Rupa and Sarwar.
