Kolkata: In an unique case of digitally organized trafficking, four girls from Kolkata and two from Malda were found using a mobile application to learn Korean for the past 10 months, under a trainer based in Kolkata, with the plea that they would travel to South Korea to meet the BTS band and other K-pop band members.However, as cops later found out, behind the mask of linguistic training was trafficking the minor girls to Bhutan via the border town of Jaigaon. The international trafficking pipeline fell through on July 14 when the two Malda girls reached Siliguri and were stopped by a coordinated net of police officers and NGO workers.Anti-trafficking NGOs like Shakti Vahini claimed this is the first reported incident in the region where a language-learning app – along with the digital platform Pinterest – was explicitly weaponised for child trafficking purposes.The two minor girls, both students of class 6 of a reputed school, are close friends, and had reportedly left home while on their way to school and travelled towards Siliguri as part of a pre-planned journey allegedly orchestrated by individuals they had met online.Information regarding their disappearance was promptly acted upon by cops following the registration of a missing case at English Bazar Police Station in Malda.The Siliguri Police Commissionerate immediately circulated the missing report and relevant case details to all police stations under its jurisdiction, initiating a swift search operation. The minors were eventually spotted at Jalpaimore, Siliguri, by a team from the New Jalpaiguri (NJP) Police Station on the very same day, preventing their further movement towards the international border region. Initially reluctant to return, the two girls began speaking in Korean confusing the cops.Following the rescue, counselling and psychosocial interaction with the minors was conducted by Nirbhaya Didi at the NJP police station to understand the circumstances leading to their disappearance.During counselling, the girls disclosed that they had come into contact with a person identifying herself as “Dighi Sarkar” through the social media platform Pinterest and through a dedicated app.The accused gradually gained their trust by promising opportunities to become K-Pop idols in South Korea. The girls said they were encouraged to learn the Korean language and culture and were added to an online group named “Demons,” where instructions, travel-related information, and location details were allegedly shared.The minors further revealed that they had been persuaded to leave their homes without informing their families and were led to believe that they would first travel towards Bhutan before being taken onward to South Korea for training and careers in the entertainment industry.During the session, another serious concern emerged when the rescued girls disclosed that four additional minor girls from Kolkata had allegedly been approached through the same method. Preliminary information suggests that the larger plan involved gathering multiple girls in the Siliguri region before moving them towards Jaigaon and subsequently across the Bhutan border.After completion of rescue formalities, the minors were safely handed over to Malda Police and produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Malda, on July 15 for care, protection, rehabilitation, and further legal proceedings. Founder of NGO Shakti and social activist Rishi Kant said, “Online platforms are becoming increasingly dangerous for children and adolescents, with traffickers and online predators using social media to lure minors through false promises, emotional manipulation, and deceptive opportunities.” He further stressed the “urgent need for comprehensive awareness programmes in schools to educate students about online grooming, cyber safety, trafficking risks, and the various methods used by offenders to exploit minors through social media and other digital channels.”An intensive investigation is currently underway to identify and apprehend all individuals involved in the alleged online grooming network, verify the identity of the accused, and locate the four Kolkata girls to ensure their safety.
