Daijiworld Media Network - Margao

Margao, Sep 1: The Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of Margao and Ponda Police rescued three women, including two from West Bengal, in separate raids conducted in Colva and Ponda last week. Four accused have been arrested in connection with the cases.

In the first operation, AHTU Margao, with the help of a decoy customer and an NGO, raided near a hotel at Colva. Two women trafficked from West Bengal were rescued. The accused, Suresh Nayak (33), a resident of Benaulim-Colva, and Raju, a native of West Bengal, had allegedly confined the victims and forced them into prostitution. Nayak was caught red-handed while handing over the victims and was arrested on the spot. A case was registered under provisions of the BNS 2023 and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.

In another raid on August 30, Ponda Police rescued a woman trafficked to Goa for prostitution. The raid at a residence in Ponda, carried out with a decoy customer and NGO support, led to the arrest of three accused — Najim Sadager (33), a resident of Ponda and native of West Bengal, Jamedar Murmu (38), native of West Bengal, and Rajesh Goud (49), native of Uttar Pradesh. Police said the trio had trafficked the victim with the intention of supplying her to customers.

The rescued woman has been shifted to the Protective Home at Merces. Both cases are under investigation by PI Sudiksha S. Naik (AHTU Margao) and PI Vijaynath Kavlekar (Ponda), under the supervision of respective SDPOs and overall supervision of SP (South) Tikam Singh Verma.