Bharuch: In a joint operation, the Local Crime Branch (LCB) and the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Bharuch district police on Saturday busted a flesh trade racket involving illegal immigrants and rescued 14 women, including 12 Bangladeshi nationals and two from West Bengal. Four men allegedly involved in illegal immigration and human trafficking have been arrested.

The crackdown followed a tip-off about Farooq Shaikh, a Bangladeshi agent who allegedly lured women with promises of jobs as beauty parlour workers or domestic helpers but instead forced them into flesh trade. Police said the women were confined at his residence in Jambusar, from where the racket was operated.

The victims were allegedly made to work in spas in Bharuch and Ankleshwar. Police said three women were placed at a spa run by Nazim Khan in Bharuch, three at a guest house operated by Raees Shaikh in Bharuch, and four at a spa in Ankleshwar run by Sujitkumar Jha. Raids at these locations led to the rescue of 10 women, while four others were found at Shaikh’s house.

During questioning, Shaikh allegedly admitted to entering India illegally from Bangladesh and obtaining fake identity documents from West Bengal. Police said he used a network of agents and relatives to bring women from Bangladesh and claimed to have facilitated the illegal stay of around 60 Bangladeshi women, including placements in states such as Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan.

Police seized mobile phones, Rs 64,000 in cash, and identity documents during the raids. The accused—Farooq Shaikh, Nazim Khan, Raees Shaikh and Sujitkumar Jha—have been booked under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. DeshGujarat