The police arrested Moharram alias Rahul, the mastermind behind an inter-state human trafficking racket, following a tense encounter around 4 a.m. on Sunday in the Pipraich area. Moharram, a resident of Budhadih in Nichlaul, Maharajganj, sustained a bullet injury to his leg during police firing.
According to SP North Jitendra Kumar Srivastava, Moharram leads a gang trafficking young girls to Haryana and Rajasthan. During a site inspection in Pipraich, Moharram attempted to flee after snatching the service pistol of a woman sub-inspector and firing shots. Police retaliated, injuring him before he was admitted to the district hospital.
The arrest came after police detained several members of the trafficking network two days earlier. Their interrogation identified Moharram as the kingpin of the gang, responsible for selling women across state borders and inciting them against the nation.
A case has been registered at Pipraich police station, and authorities are conducting a detailed investigation to dismantle the larger trafficking nexus. Probes are also underway into Moharram’s links with other criminal activities.