Samina, Darzi and Idreshi were caught while receiving the first installment of Rs 5,000 for selling off the girl
A 26-year-old tailor from Goregaon and his 24-year-old wife have been arrested for selling off her 12-year-old sister for Rs 70,000 in D N Nagar on Tuesday. A team of officers from the special squad of Additional Commissioner of Police (West) made the arrest. The team was led by former 'encounter specialist' Daya Nayak, who was reinstated last year, seven years after his arrest and suspension.
The accused have been identified as Mohammed Darzi and Samina. They were caught red-handed while accepting Rs 5,000 from a pimp. According to the police, Darzi was in touch with another tailor from Bandra, who has been identified as Mohammed Idreshi (22). Idreshi had promised to find Darzi a customer who would buy his sister-in-law for a handsome amount of money.
In the meantime, a Bangalore-based NGO investigating some cases of child trafficking approached the Addl CP in Mumbai and enlisted his support in cracking the case. Nayak's team then joined forces with officers of DN Nagar police station and set up a trap.
A worker from the NGO contacted Idreshi, asking for a girl for sexual services; the agent provided two girls. "I waited in the auto-rickshaw at a designated spot, and was approached by a 23-year-old girl. Sending her back, I called Idreshi and asked for a virgin. He quoted the price of Rs 90,000 for a young girl who had just been brought to the city," said James Varghese, president of the NGO India Rescue Mission.
A deal was fixed after Varghese was shown a photo of the girl by Darzi. Idreshi however informed the customers that they would not be able to take the girl to a lodge or guesthouse in Mumbai, as the laws were strict here. He asked them to take the girl to Pune or Lonavla, once she was handed over to them.
On Tuesday, the four met outside a fast food outlet near Andheri railway station. While Varghese was paying the first installment of Rs 5,000 to Darzi, cops emerged and arrested Darzi, Samina and Idreshi, handing them over to the D N Nagar police.
Samina had brought her sister to Mumbai from West Bengal, saying that she would get her sibling admitted to a school and look after her education. Police have arrested the three on charges of abduction and selling the victim for prostitution.
"We are now looking into the modus operandi employed by these agents to traffic young girls. Samina and Idreshi might have got several other girls from West Bengal and sold them in the city," said Vishwas Nangre Patil, additional commissioner of police (west).