KOLKATA: A man was arrested on Monday for allegedly trafficking a 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl and selling her at a red light area in Kolkata. The girl was rescued from a brothel. She was later, sent to a women's home.

"The immoral trafficking department of Kolkata police arrested 21-year-old Abdul Gaffar , who lured the minor girl by promising to marry her and brought her to India from Bangladesh . The duo crossed the border a few days back and then the girl was taken to Birbhum and Burdwan and finally, sold off at Sonagachi. We rescued the girl and sent her to a safe custody," joint commissioner of police (crime), Pallab Kanti Ghosh, said.

When asked whether Gaffar had any antecedents, Ghosh said, "Today, the court ordered police custody for 14 days and now, we can interrogate him. Since he is not a local, we do not have his details. Only after interrogating him, we can say whether he has any antecedent or not."

According to police sources, Gaffar came to India a few days back but did not sell the girl immediately. As he kept the girl with him before selling her, there is every possibility that he was using her for his own purpose. When his own purpose was served, he wanted to sell the girl, they said.

"Acting on a tip-off, we arrested him. We are looking into the facts to ascertain whether he tried to have a physical relation with the girl before selling her, and whether he had done this kind of trafficking before", an officer said.

