NIA Arrests Man in Bengal's Durgapur Over Forged Passport Human Trafficking Racket

The NIA on Monday arrested a man from his rented residence in West Bengal's Durgapur in connection with a human trafficking case in which workers were sent to West Asian countries using forged passports, a senior official of the national probe agency said.

The accused, identified as Golam Jama, was taken into custody after nearly three hours of searches and questioning at his house in New Steel Park near Main Gate in Ward No. 13 of Durgapur, he said.

Jama is suspected to have been part of a network that trafficked workers to West Asian countries under the guise of overseas contractual employment, he said, adding that investigators are also probing allegations that forged passports were arranged to facilitate the travel of those being sent abroad.

"The searches were conducted as part of an ongoing investigation into a human trafficking network. One accused has been arrested and incriminating material relevant to the probe has been seized. Since the investigation is continuing, it would not be appropriate to disclose further operational details at this stage," a senior NIA official said.

Jama, a native of Chhattisgarh, had moved to Durgapur around four years ago after marrying a local woman. He had been living with his wife and their two sons in the New Steel Park area, he said.

Investigators are looking into Jama's previous employment history, he said.

According to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) official, Jama had earlier worked at a tyre shop in Chhattisgarh before joining a travel agency, where he allegedly came into contact with an organised network involved in sending workers abroad. The agency suspects that the travel business was used as a front for illegal human trafficking operations.

Residents of the locality said Jama maintained a low profile and rarely interacted with neighbours. They recalled that he travelled frequently to countries such as Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, though the purpose of those visits was not publicly known at the time.

During Monday's operation, NIA officials also questioned Jama's wife.

Police maintained a security cordon around the house throughout the search.