Srinagar, Feb 15: The State Investigation Agency Kashmir (SIA) on Thursday raided 18 locations in Srinagar city as part of its investigations into a trans-national human trafficking case.
A Police spokesman said that special teams of the SIA, aided by the Srinagar police, started the searches in the early hours.
“During the operation, incriminating material and documents such as identity cards, bank documents, identity cards, and registers besides digital devices like mobile phones and computers were seized from various HR consultancies,” he said.
The spokesman said the case pertains to the illegal trafficking of foreign nationals into Indian Territory, particularly from Myanmar and Bangladesh.
“Investigations reveal that vulnerable foreign nationals are trafficked to India under the guise of employment opportunities. Upon their transportation to Jammu and Kashmir, they are sold to fake and illegal human resource agencies or consultancies, who further exploit them under the garb of job opportunities such as domestic helpers, maids, and babysitters, often leading to sexual exploitation,” he said.
The spokesman said that this nefarious scheme is part of a broader conspiracy hatched by international terrorist organisations, in connivance with notorious trans-border human traffickers.
“These groups facilitate the infiltration of foreign nationals across international borders, concealing their original identities with forged Indian documents with an ultimate aim to establish sleeper cells to aid, execute, or facilitate terrorist acts in J&K,” he said.
The spokesman said that SIA affirms that the seized material will be meticulously examined so that all the accused persons are identified and brought to book.
“Today’s search operation marks the continuous pursuit of SIA in dismantling the terror ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir and unfurling the sinister agendas of international terrorist organizations operating in the region,” he added.
In November 2023, National Investigation Agency (NIA) had conducted nationwide searches at 50 places, including Jammu and Kashmir.
“The initial case, FIR no: 12/2023 dated 9.9.2023, was registered by the Assam Police’s Special Task Force (STF) and pertained to a human trafficking network responsible for the infiltration and settlement of illegal migrants across Indo-Bangladesh border into India, including those of Rohingya origin,” he said.
