Police in Bihar’s Purnea have blown the lid off a human trafficking racket after rescuing a 6-year-old from a nomadic herbalist’s tent, two days after his kidnapping from West Bengal. The case, blending deception with cross-state crime, has locals reeling and authorities on high alert.
The ordeal began in Jalpaiguri’s Mal Bazaar, where the boy was coaxed away from his doorstep game. Ferried to Purnea by bus, he was handed over in a 1.5 lakh deal. Parents’ prompt FIR triggered CCTV analysis, nailing the kidnapper in mere seven hours.
His interrogation led straight to Suresh Singh’s Rangbhumi Maidan tent, where Bengal officers, with local aid, extracted the child from beside the buyer. Singh, a Muzaffarnagar man selling jungle cures, confessed the purchase aimed at lucrative resale, though his shifting tales suggest evasion tactics.
With no fixed abodes, these rootless nomads—common sights selling herbs and stunts in Bihar’s fields—evoke distrust. Purnea forces are raiding similar outfits aggressively.
Fresh on the heels of a Purnea Medical College duo’s abduction (foiled by social media buzz), this rescue signals escalating child snatchings. Child and prime suspect now face Bengal justice, as probes dig into potential syndicate involvement.