Palghar police arrested a man for allegedly trafficking over 500 girls from Bangladesh and pushing them into flesh trade in Mumbai.

Most of the girls were also found with valid documents like Aadhaar cards. The crime branch is also investigating how these documents were made without the victims being Indian residents.

A case of human trafficking has been registered by Palghar police against Mohammad Saidul Shaikh (38) from Manpada in Dombivali area of Thane district.

According to police, there are at least seven cases against Shaikh. Police inspector Jitendra Venkutty associated with the case said the accused would get about Rs 4,000-5,000 as commission for selling a girl.

Shaikh is accused of bringing girls, especially minors, from Bangladesh for which he would get over Rs 1 lakh from customers. The girls were assured that they will be given jobs.

According to police, some of his agents in Bangladesh would even entice minor girls into some sort of love affair and then bring them across the international border.

The police received information about the racket after four minors, who were rescued from flesh trade, recounted their ordeal while giving a statement in which they named Shaikh.

Crime branch sleuths say he was also involved in illegal hawala transactions across the border. Policemen say Shaikh himself is from Bangladesh but had been operating in India since 2010.

Venkutty said Shaikh had been on the police's radar for quite some time but it was only after they received a tip-off from their informers that they managed to arrest him.

So far seven people have been arrested by the police and seven more are still to be arrested. Shaikh was presented before a local court and was taken into police custody for further investigation.

Also read: 500 minors smuggled in from Jharkhand in 6 years: Sex trafficking in overdrive in Delhi

Also read: 3 men lynched in Bihar for attempting to kidnap 5-year-old girl

Watch: Child trafficking racket: Mother Teresa charity probe a witch-hunt?