But by then, at least 200 girls from impoverished families across India had been trafficked to the Gulf for 2 lakh each by a city-based woman
Hemanth.Kashyap @timesgroup.com
They sold the ‘Gulf dream’ to around 200 gullible girls from different parts of the country, including Bangalore. In reality, the girls were pushed into the flesh trade in places like Muscat and Dubai. For each girl entrapped, the accused duo would get Rs 2 lakh from their Gulf accomplices. The racket, which had been going on for around four years, came to the notice of the Indian police following a raid on a brothel in Muscat.
According to the Subrahmanyapura (Bangalore south) police, Nafeesa Banu and K P Saleh alias Saleh Kunni are the kingpins of the racket. Nafeesa (38) is from Uttar Pradesh. She left her husband and relocated to Mumbai some years ago, where she met Saleh, an established pimp. Saleh hails from Kozhikode and is settled in south Mumbai’s Dongri area.
He taught her the tricks of the trade and ‘assigned’ her to Bangalore. To create a cover for herself, she seduced and married a city-based widower. He was besotted enough to fall for her fake story of being a passport broker and didn’t find anything amiss in her frequent visits to Mumbai and other cities.
The duo had agents in different cities, who would scout for girls from poor families, lure them with offers of money and jobs, and take them to Saleh and Nafeesa. The girls were made to believe all they had to do to enjoy the ‘Gulf dream’ was to be house-keepers to local families there.
The girls would board flights from Chennai and would be met in Muscat by Shariff and Kumari. The Muscat accomplices would send Nafeesa and Saleh Rs 2 lakh per girl, part of which would be used for the girl’s passport, visa and air ticket expenses.
For the first few days, the unsuspecting girls would be given a royal treatment, after which they would be sent to clients’ addresses under the strict watch of the drivers ferrying them. The lid was blown off the racket when the Muscat police recently raided a hotel and nabbed 20 Indian girls. The girls were deported to India, and told investigators about Saleh and Nafeesa.
Speaking to BANGALORE MIRROR, Subramanyapura police inspector Bale Gowda said, “When they reached Muscat or Dubai, Shariff and Kumari would take away their passports, preventing them from running away. They were given monthly amounts of Rs 20,000-25,000. We nabbed Saleh in Mumbai and then Nafeesa. They have confessed to their role in the racket.”
One of the girls, Reshma (name changed), told the police, “They used to beat us and starve us if we refused to meet clients. We were kept captive, ten to a house, and had to line up for clients to pick from.”
The Subramanyapura police have gathered that around 20 girls were sent by the accused duo to Dubai and Muscat from different parts of Karnataka, including Bangalore.
DCP (south) Sonia Narang said, “The arrest of the duo is a big breakthrough for the police. The accused were operating with impunity for several years. We are now trying to track down their accomplices across the country.”
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