Gujarat : Vadodara Court Grants 7-Day Remand for Accused in Cambodia Human Trafficking Case

VADODARA,GUJARAT : Vadodara District court has awarded a seven-day remand for Manish Hingoo, who was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Cambodia human trafficking case. The NIA had initially requested a 14-day remand for Hingoo in the sessions court, but the court granted a seven-day period for further investigation.

The arrest of Manish Hingoo in Vadodara comes as part of a broader operation led by the NIA and Gujarat police, targeting cybercrime and human trafficking networks. The investigation was triggered by a viral video showing a man kidnapped and tortured in Cambodia. This disturbing footage led to a multi-state search operation, covering fifteen locations across six states.

The operation revealed a complex human trafficking racket orchestrated by individuals both in India and Cambodia. Among the key figures identified were Manish Hingoo of Vadodara, Agent Krishna Pathak, Cambodian Agent Vicky, and Anand Vishwakarma. The NIA and state police conducted a raid on an office called Unique Employment Service in Subhanpura on Monday, uncovering crucial evidence.

The case came to light when Deenbandhu Sahu from Odisha, one of the victims, returned to India and provided detailed information about the fraud to the NIA and Vadodara police. Sahu had been lured with the promise of a computer job in Vietnam, for which he paid 1.50 lakhs. However, he was subsequently taken across the illegal border into Cambodia, where he was subjected to torture.

Upon his return, Sahu’s testimony proved instrumental in unraveling the human trafficking network. The crime branch presented Manish Hingoo in court on Wednesday, seeking a 14-day remand to delve deeper into the operations of the racket. The court, however, granted a seven-day remand.

During the investigation, the police uncovered that the human trafficking scam had been run by Unique Employment Service. The operation involved sending unsuspecting individuals abroad under false pretenses, only to exploit them upon arrival. The raid on Hingoo’s residence and office led to the seizure of 57 passports, providing further evidence of the extensive nature of the fraud. So far, it has been revealed that around 200 people have been trafficked and defrauded through this operation.