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Coach, berth no. stamped on hands: How 56 women were saved from trafficking on train in Bengal
Two persons accompanying the women were arrested from the train at New Jalpaiguri in Siliguri, West Bengal
An unusually large group of young women traveling together, none of them carrying their tickets or documents — this was enough to spark suspicion among railway staff aboard the New Jalpaiguri-Patna Capital Express.
What it revealed was a tale of false promises, preying on vulnerabilities, and a racket of trafficking.
In all, 56 women were rescued and two persons accompanying them were arrested from the train at the New Jalpaiguri station in Siliguri, West Bengal, officials told news agency PTI.
The women, aged between 18 and 31, hailed from the Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar, and Alipurduar districts of West Bengal.
The ticket examining staff and the railway protection force (RPF) suspected something amiss when they found that none of the women had valid tickets on them.
The coach and berth numbers were stamped on their hands, a routine check by RPF personnel revealed at the source station.
The women told them they were promised employment at a Bengaluru-based company.
Also read | UP ATS busts international trafficking racket
The RPF found a man and a woman accompanying them who failed to clarify why the women were being sent to Bihar when they had been promised jobs in Bengaluru.
They failed to produce any documents confirming job offers or the cited reasons for the travel, officials said.
The accompanying duo were thus arrested at the spot.
The women have, meanwhile, since been returned to their homes.
Also read | How Bengal, India’s human trafficking hub, is weaving a turnaround story
The railway police and the RPF are jointly probing the case, especially the human trafficking angle.
West Bengal also has a specialised cell against human trafficking in its Criminal Investigation Department. This Anti Human Trafficking Cell (AHTU) can be contacted on 033-24506114, as per the CID website.
