Eleven suspects have been arrested for luring girls and women into the sex trade in India under the guise of creating a Tik Tok model in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh’s paramilitary unit, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), said the alleged ringleader of the gang, Rafi-ul-Islam, alias “Tik Tok Radioway”, had targeted the girls through Tik Tak and other social media groups, AFP reported. Tik Tok used to exploit by making a model.
The RAB said the victim girls were trafficked to South India and sexually exploited, and the arrests came after a video of a Bangladeshi woman being sexually abused went viral on social media in late May. And the gang is being investigated.
According to police, all the accused were detained during the last one week.
Dhaka Deputy Commissioner of Police Muhammad Shahidullah said the latest arrest came on Monday, when two men were arrested in Bangladesh’s southwestern border district for allegedly trafficking girls and women, while the girls, aged 17, were arrested. She was between 22 years old.
He said one accused said he had sent 1,000 people to India so far.
So far, nine suspects have been arrested from Bangladesh and two others from Bangalore, India’s technology hub, for allegedly being part of the gang, the police officer said.
Bangalore City Police Commissioner Kamal Punt said four more people had also been arrested for allegedly raping or betting in the videos.
He said that the accused who was arrested late today has not been interrogated yet, according to the police of both countries, all the accused are citizens of Bangladesh.
The Dhaka police chief said that Radioway was among the accused in the custody of Bangalore authorities.
Shahidullah said that since 2019, when tik tok has become popular in Bangladesh, such gangs have started targeting low-income families.
He said that he was invited to participate in pool parties, star in tick talk videos and call centers, sales and service centers dreaming of paying salaries as per his wish.
