Trafficked from Bangladesh and Rescued from a Clay Hut in Bilaspur

Zarine washing her face after her rescue

On January 29, 2025, our team received intel from a partner NGO in Bangladesh about a minor Bangladeshi girl, Zarine, who was trafficked to India. Her parents in Bangladesh filed a trafficking case on June 14, 2023, in which they named five males responsible for their daughter’s disappearance. 

As our team in Kolkata followed up on the intel, we tried to gather new information about Zarine. On February 15, our Kolkata team shared the updated information with our Nagpur team and informed them that Zarine had been moved to Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh.

Since February, our team has been trying to follow different leads to narrow down Zarine’s location. On February 17, our investigator travelled to Bilaspur, but he was unable to locate Zarine.

On March 12, we received new intel about Zarine’s exact location as well as the trafficker holding her. Our team in Nagpur traveled to Bilaspur on March 14.

They met the police on March 15. Due to a town festival, the police were unavailable to conduct a rescue operation, but they agreed to initiate a rescue the next day.

On March 16, at 4:30 p.m., the police and our team went to the location where Zarine and the trafficker were staying. It was a clay hut in a very isolated area. We rescued 17-year-old Zarine, and the police arrested and booked the Bangladeshi trafficker under the Foreigners Act.

Zarine shared her statement with the police, and after a few days, she attended her medical tests. The Child Welfare Committee ordered Zarine to be placed in a shelter home in Chhattisgarh, where she remains safe.