SSB busts traffickers’ gang, rescues 19 children

The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) on Sunday claimed to have busted an international human traffickers’ gang active on the India-Nepal border. Four suspected traffickers were arrested and 19 children were rescued, officials said. Three alleged traffickers — Sant Bahadur Singh, Suraj Singh and Kamal Gautam —were handed over to the Nepal police as they were residents of Nepal, officials added. The fourth one, Ahmed Hussain, was handed over to Bahraich police, they said. Police claimed to have recovered a fake Aadhaar card with a Gujarat address from Hussain.

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) spokesperson RK Singh said the rescued children were handed over to a non-government organisation. Intelligence agencies and the district police were jointly interrogating Hussain, officials added. Deputy Commandant, SSB 42nd battalion, Jai Prakash said the rescued children told the SSB officials that traffickers had promised them jobs in Gulf countries. The children were rescued when they were being taken to Shimla, Mumbai and Bhimtal from where the agents had planned to take them to Gulf countries, officials said. Most of the children were residents of Jajarkot, Bara and Banke districts in Nepal, they said. Inspector general of police, SSB Lucknow, has announced cash reward for the SSB team members who rescued the children.