Six from Assam, Meghalaya in NIA chargesheets for trafficking of Rohingya, Bangladeshi women into India

Six persons from Assam and Meghalaya have been named in the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) charge sheet for their involvement in the alleged trafficking of Rohingya and Bangladeshi women into India with fake documents.

The charge sheets were filed in the NIA special court in Guwahati on Saturday.

"Investigation has revealed that the accused persons were involved in organised human trafficking of Rohingyas/Bangladeshi minor girls, women in association with other conspirators based in different parts of the India and Bangladesh. The accused persons had arranged for transportation, accommodation, procurement of fake documents etc. for the trafficked Rohingya victims," the NIA said in a statement on Sunday morning.

The accused have beeen charged under Sections 120B, 370(3) and 370(5) of IPC.

Five of the accused—Kumkum Ahmed Choudhury, Ahiya Ahmed Choudhury, Bapan Ahmed Choudhury, Sahalam Laskar, Jamaluddin Choudhury—hail from Cachar district in South Assam. The sixth person—Wanbiang Suting—is from East Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya.

The six were arrested in March this year. The NIA said 'prime accused' Kumkum Ahmed Choudhury was operating the human trafficking network from Bengaluru.

Both Assam and Meghalaya share borders with Bangladesh, where thousands of Rohingya refugees are taking shelter since the ethnic clash in neighbouring Myanmar.

The NIA took over the case in December last year after several Rohingya refugees were arrested in Assam for travelling without valid documents. The agency is investigating the alleged trafficking of Rohingyas and Bangladeshis into India in exploitative trades and also for giving them passage permanently using fake Indian documents.