In a major crackdown on a human trafficking racket, the Bassi Police near Jaipur have arrested Gayatri Vishwakarma, the director of the Gayatri Sarva Samaj Foundation, which was operating under the guise of organizing mass marriages for women from poor families.
According to police officials, Gayatri and her associates were buying young women from agents trafficking them from poor families in Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh. These women were then sold to men seeking brides for anywhere between Rs 2.5 lakh to 5 lakh, based on factors like complexion, height, and age.
The racket was exposed when a 16-year-old girl, trafficked from Uttar Pradesh, managed to escape from the farmhouse located in Sujanpura village, about 30 km from Jaipur, on Sunday. She approached the police, leading to a raid at the farmhouse. During the operation, police arrested Gayatri Vishwakarma, along with Hanuman, her associate, and two other individuals — Bhagwan Das and Mahendra — who had arrived to “buy” the teenager.
Authorities learned that the foundation, which claimed to organize mass weddings for poor girls, had actually been running a trafficking operation, with around 1,500 marriages arranged illegally. The girls’ ages were often altered using fake Aadhaar cards to present them as being over 18, despite many being minors.
The racket’s operation was only exposed after the brave escape of the young girl, who had been bought into this scheme. The villagers had limited knowledge about the NGO’s operations, as the farmhouse was situated on the outskirts of the village. It was also revealed that a girl had escaped earlier but her attempts to report the situation were not successful due to language barriers.
The police have registered a case under human trafficking, illegal marriage, and other related charges. Investigations are ongoing, and more arrests may follow as authorities delve deeper into the network behind this illegal operation.
