 "She pushed 3,000 Indian & Bangladeshi girls into sex trade, then law caught up with her")
Maimuna, aka Salma, almost 50, in prostitution for 20 years, has allegedly trafficked 3,000 young women so far.
Her favourite hunting grounds were her home state of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, according to the police.
Herself forcefully thrown into prostitution in Delhi’s notorious red-light area on GB Road, she was arrested Tuesday, but not before rising to the ranks of one of the biggest lynchpins of sex trafficking and human smuggling.
She is the madam and the owner of Kotha (brothel) number 70 on GB Road. According to police and non-profits that ultimately brought Salma’s dark empire down last Tuesday, she had long worked as the madam and manager of Kotha number 56 before buying number 70.
Salma had been on the radar of non-profits engaged in rescuing women from traffickers and police for long.
Walls of justice close in on Salma
“We had been following Salma for quite some time. We had, on multiple occasions, received complaints about she being one of the biggest hubs of trafficking unsuspecting girls, mostly minors, from across India, especially West Bengal, and forcing them into prostitution. As far as we can extrapolate from her prolific trafficking system, we suspect she might have pushed close to 3000 young girls and women into prostitution in her 20 year career,” Virendra Singh, director of Mission Mukti Foundation told Firstpost.
The foundation was part of the police raid during which Salma was nabbed. In fact, the police had requested the foundation’s help in rescuing a victim that was able to identify Salma, hence the arrest.
“We suspect she might be connected to sex trafficking gangs across the Bangladesh border,” Singh added.
Hell of a coincidence!
July 26 last year, Farida (name changed), 19, set out from her parents’ place in Balbalia village under Baruipur Police Station limits in South-24 Paragana for her in-laws’ house, but did not reach. She was with her 4-year-old son.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHer brother lodged a complaint with the police.
“My sister (missing since July 26, 2023) was spotted by a relative at Delhi’s GB Road on Aug. 25, 2023,” the brother wrote in the police complaint, requesting that his sister be rescued. Farida’s relative Billu (name changed to avoid identification of the victim) had had a glimpse of her in Delhi and based on his testimony the complaint was converted into FIR on Sept. 05, 2023.
End of Ordeal
Farida was rotting in the hellhole of Kotha number 70 when her relative Billu, with a big stroke of luck, saw her. Her 4-year-old kid was lodged in a local child welfare committee (CWC) care home.
Upon conversion of missing person complaint into FIR, the Baruipur Police contacted Virender Singh of Mission Mukti Foundation, asking for help in locating and rescuing the woman.
On October 30, 2023, Baruipur Police wrote to Singh: “Kindly provide necessary assistance to recover the victim… along with her son… who had been kidnapped by anyone and it is supposed was taken outside state. During investigation of this case as per statement of the complainant, it came to be learnt that one month ago Billu (name changed), who is a relative of the complainant, found the said victim lady at GB Road, Kotha no 70, 2nd Floor, Left Side, Delhi. I kindly request your cooperation in the efforts to locate and recover the missing lady and her son…”
Singh swung into action along with another non-profit Rescue Foundation. “We sent decoys and did recce of the place twice, but could not find the victim. Then, one day our spotter did see the woman and we told the police about it. Nov. 24, a joint team of Delhi Police, West Bengal Police, along with our representatives raided the brothel and rescued the victim,” Singh told Firstpost.
The woman was taken back home, but only after a lot of convincing, her shame becoming the biggest obstacle in her reunion with family. We shall come to that later.
The victim’s statement was recorded under Section 164, but she did not say much the first time, said police sources. It was the second attempt at the statement that the victim opened up and gave the details of her abduction and sale to Salma.
“The case was then handed over to CID, West Bengal,” Singh said.
WB Police asks for help again; Salma located & arrested
Since a prima facie case of abduction had been established, the CID slapped more charges in the FIR against Salma. A woman sub-inspector of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the police wrote to Singh for further assistance in nabbing Salma.
“… I want to hold raid… Hence, I pray necessary assistance may kindly be provided in this regard,” she wrote to the Mission Mukti Foundation.
“Our informants and spotters were hot on trail of Salma and they pinned down her location to Kotha number 70 last Tuesday. We informed the Delhi Police. We joined an operation of AHTU-West Bengal CID and Delhi Police and nabbed her in raid,” Singh told Firstpost.
Salma’s rapsheet
She is the owner of Kotha (brothel) number 70 on GB Road. According to police and non-profits she had long worked as the madam and manager of Kotha number 56 before buying number 70 in 2015-16.
According to Singh, Salma was the ‘nayika’ or manager of the kotha run by the notorious Afaq Hussain and his wife Saira Begum, who were arrested for trafficking thousands of girls and kids as part of an elaborate sex trafficking racket they ran from GB Road.
The duo used to bring girls from all across India, including West Bengal, Assam, Odisha, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, as also from across the Nepal border. In a tell-tale fashion they were brought to Delhi on the pretext of jobs, marriage etc and pushed into prostitution. The victims also gave handsome cuts to the couple from their income.
Salma, however, according to Singh, stole a large amount of money from the couple after they were arrested and went absconding. After cooling her heels for a couple of years, Salma came out from hiding and bought Kotha number 70, from where she started her own murky empire.
Victims are loathe to return home
Ashamed of having joined prostitution, however unwillingly and forcibly, hapless victims hesitant to go back home.
After being rescued, Singh interviewed Farida. She did not even know how much she was sold for. With a heavy voice, she told Singh: “I get to see my son, may be, once a month. I was duped because they told me I will work as a maid in a house and will be paid well.”
Once Singh connected her with her father on a videocall, Farida broke down into cries of “I want to come home”.
She is back with her family in West Bengal and is being counselled by a local NGO.
What does National Commission for Women have to say?
After repeated attempts to get a reaction from NCW, Firstpost was told that the women’s rights body did not have any knowledge of the case.
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