12 hours ago
Two more held in Telangana as tribal leader alleges 60 women are missing
ADILABAD: The Kumurambheem Asifabad police on Sunday arrested two more suspects in a human trafficking case, amid allegations that nearly 60 women have been sold to agents from Madhya Pradesh.
According to Circle Inspector Ravinder, the arrested individuals were identified as Bashar Ramesh Goud (A7), a native of Dabla village in Mandsaur district, and Soni Jagadesh (A9), a native of Javari — both from Madhya Pradesh. The horrific incident came to light on Friday after a woman, who had been trafficked to Madhya Pradesh for Rs 1.3 lakh, re-established contact with her parents in Vadgondi village, Asifabad mandal. The traffickers allegedly manipulated her Aadhaar records, inserting the buyer's name as her husband. When the updated Aadhaar card was mailed to her Vadgondi address, her family grew suspicious and reported the matter to the police.
Six persons, including a constable, were arrested earlier in the case.
Reacting to the arrests, Adivasi Hakkula Porata Samithi (Thudum Debba) district president Kotnak Vijay Kumar warned of large-scale agitations across the state if the government fails to take stringent action against those involved.
'It is deeply concerning that many tribal women have gone missing in recent months and have only been traced to other states through Aadhaar card updates. This shows the state's lack of responsibility toward Adivasis,' he said.
He claimed that nearly 60 tribal women have been trafficked to other states in the past six months. 'The accused must be booked under the PD Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act,' he said.
However, the inspector stated that while investigation is ongoing, no specific figures are currently available regarding the number of missing women reportedly trafficked to MP.
