45 women walk free and 25 suspects arrested in major operation
June 26, 2025
Forty-five women have walked free from a brothel and 25 suspected traffickers arrested in a major operation, following Justice & Care’s work with Indian partners.
While the full facts of the case are still emerging, the victims were reportedly subjected to sexual exploitation in India and denied the most basic human rights.
Kept in inhumane conditions, they were held captive, blindfolded when moved between locations, and treated as commodities to earn money for their traffickers. One was found locked in a kitchen cabinet — terrified and struggling to breathe.
Justice & Care became involved when a Mumbai-based partner organisation contacted us about a Bangladeshi trafficking victim in desperate need of help. We immediately engaged the victim’s family and supported them to file a police complaint, while gathering further information through contacting two other victims.
Following the intel that we shared, an operation was launched by police and our partner organisation in India – resulting in the 45 women being freed.
The women are now being supported in Indian shelter homes; our team will support the seven Bangladeshi survivors in the group to return home as soon as possible and will assist the criminal justice process.
Tariqul Islam, Justice & Care’s Country Director in Bangladesh, said: ‘We are so glad that these women are safe again. All of us at Justice & Care are grateful for the hard work and dedication of our partners in India to make this a reality.
‘This case is a testament to what can be achieved when we work together across borders to fight this evil crime.’
This news is just one positive step forward in Bangladesh; on Wednesday, a trafficker was jailed for life following our legal team’s work. The sentencing comes after he lured four men to Malaysia with the promise of employment, and then tortured them and demanded ransom from their families.
Nine people at risk of trafficking were also intercepted this week and referred to our care by border guards after they were trained by Justice & Care in victim identification.
