Trafficking of girls from Meghalaya
SHILLONG: Despite the arrest of the Swapna Debnath alias Suku (52), proprietor of a brothel in Silchar, Assam, in January 2012, the cases related to trafficking of girls from Meghalaya is still pending.
The proprietor of the brothel was arrested based on a complaint lodged by three girls from Meghalaya, who were rescued from a brothel at Radhamadhab Road, Silchar, along with another minor girl.
On January 20, 2012, the four Meghalaya girls, including a minor, were rescued and two women – Suku Debnath and her associate Gita Singh – were arrested following a raid conducted in the brothel by a joint team of Meghalaya and Assam police along with CSWO members.
Following the arrests, the State Police had claimed that Suku Debnath used to frequent Shillong to lure girls with promises of jobs. The police said they could rescue the girls from Silchar after a tip-off from a woman from Shillong who had escaped from the brothel. The woman had lodged a complaint on January 19, 2012 at Rynjah PS.
In her complaint, she had claimed that one Raju from Nongmynsong had offered her a job at Ladrymbai in Jaintia Hills, but instead, he sold her to the brothel operated by Suku Debnath.
However, she managed to escape and returned to Shillong.