Lucknow police cracked a major inter-state human trafficking racket with the arrest of two men, Santosh Sahu alias Dabloo (45) and Manish Bhandari alias Monu (44), rescuing two minor girls, including one trafficked from Lucknow railway station and another from Rae Bareli.
The accused, apprehended in Krishna Nagar, preyed on teenage girls by luring them with false promises of marriage. Police revealed the duo sold about 12-15 minor girls across states, said DCP (south) Nipun Agarwal.
A 16-year-old girl from Lucknow, who had traveled to Vrindavan for a religious discourse, was trapped by traffickers. Santosh Sahu, originally from Madhya Pradesh, targeted vulnerable girls near railway stations and bus terminals. He befriended them under false pretenses, then sold them to Manish Bhandari in Rajasthan for Rs50,000, who further sold them for higher sums.
The case surfaced after the girl’s father filed a missing report on June 30. Using CCTV footage, call records, and digital tracking, police traced the accused’s movements. Sahu admitted trafficking multiple girls since 2012 in collaboration with Bhandari.
The minor girl was taken from Lucknow to Prayagraj, then through MP’s Shadol and Katni districts before Bhandari’s possession. She was rescued from Manak Nagar railway station on July 8. Another 15-year-old girl from Rae Bareli was also recovered during the arrests.
Both men have prior criminal records, including charges of kidnapping, rape, and trafficking across multiple states. Police are seeking custody remand to unravel the wider trafficking network.
