ITANAGAR, 14 May: The Itanagar police have arrested 1st AAPBn DSP Bulang Marik and two others for sexually assaulting minor girls forced into prostitution by pimps, in the explosive interstate sex trafficking and child exploitation racket busted by the police.
The other two have been identified as 1st AAPBn Constable Toi Bagra (35), a resident of Ganga village, and one Saddam Hussain (26), a mason by profession, hailing from Dhubri in Assam and residing in Lekhi village.
Three more persons, all pimps, have also been arrested. Altogether 21 persons have thus far been arrested in the case.
The police team also rescued one more minor girl from a lodge at Zoo Road in Chimpu, taking the total rescued victims to five.
According to a press release, the Itanagar police, with the aid of technical and human inputs, identified a couple who run a hotel named City Hotel at Zoo Road, along with the manager of the hotel – all identified as pimps who had pushed minor victims into the flesh trade for the assailants (‘customers’).
“The police learnt that the accused persons were exploiting one more minor girl,” the release stated.
Following this, the team conducted a raid on the hotel, and arrested Dulal Basumatary (52), of Udalguri, Assam, who runs the City Hotel, where he used to provide rooms to the customers, the release said, adding that Dulal’s wife Dipali Basumatary (44) has also been arrested for her involvement in the crime.
The hotel’s manager, Deepak Parajuli (24), from Narayanpur in Assam, was also arrested for facilitating the crime.
The rescued minor girl (15) comes from a poor family. She had been raised by Dulal and Dipali Basumatary, who forced her into prostitution when she reached adolescence.
The girl has been shifted to a shelter home, and is undergoing medical treatment, the release informed.
