A minor girl from Hingalganj, West Bengal, who fled her home to avoid forced marriage, was rescued from an alleged sex trafficking network in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. She is currently under protective care at a government-run shelter in the islands, following a joint rescue operation by the West Bengal Police, Andaman Police, and child rights NGOs Shakti Vahini and Prayas.
According to the police, the girl was trafficked by flight from Kolkata to the islands by a man suspected to be running a sex racket in the region. The case was registered as FIR No. 160/25 on July 14, 2025, at Hingalganj Police Station under Sections 137(2)/140(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), after the girl went missing on July 13.
An early breakthrough came when West Bengal Police arrested one accused, who confessed to the trafficking and disclosed the minor’s location. The accused’s phone was tracked to Sri Vijaya Puram in the islands. Local police in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, acting on instructions from the Superintendent of Police and with inputs from Prayas, launched a search operation.
Although the girl was not located immediately, officers apprehended a woman running a sex racket. Interrogation of the woman led to the successful rescue of the girl and the arrest of the main accused.
During counselling, the girl said she had met the man only 15 days before the incident near a biryani stall in her village. She explained that her parents were pressuring her to get married and, seeking to escape, she agreed to travel with the accused. Upon arrival in the islands, they reportedly got married.
Following her rescue, the girl underwent a medical examination and was placed in a Children’s Home for shelter and support. She remains in the Andaman Islands under protection.
In a related development, another individual was arrested in West Bengal for accompanying the accused and the girl to the airport. He admitted that the intention was to push the girl into prostitution and revealed they had planned to traffic another minor who eventually refused to travel.
The Andaman Police are coordinating with officials from North 24 Parganas for continued investigation and legal follow-up.
