IMO App: Secret tool of Hajera Begum's crossborder sex trafficking ring
Hyderabad: A cross-border sex trafficking ring operating between Bangladesh and Hyderabad, which was busted last month, used the encrypted messaging app IMO to coordinate the smuggling of minors and direct their movement to clients in budget hotel rooms, revealed the Bandlaguda police investigation.
The alleged brain behind the racket, Hajera Begum, along with her associates, utilized the platform to communicate with suppliers in Bangladesh sitting in her house in Ismail Nagar, Bandlaguda, old city, arrange border crossings, and assign victims to specific locations, all while frequently shifting safe houses to dodge the police. The encrypted nature of the app provided the group with a layer of secrecy, allowing them to operate a cross-border network that exploited vulnerable minors brought illegally into India.
Bandlaguda to Bangladesh
Delving deeper into the case details, on August 9, 2025, Begum, a maid-turned prostitution organizer, was arrested by the Bandlaguda police and has been in judicial custody since. Along with her, Shahnaaz Fathima (32), an orchestra dancer from Mehdipatnam, and Mohammed Sameer (23), an auto driver from Kanchanbagh, were arrested. However, Rupa, a Bangladeshi national, and Sarwar, a Hyderabad resident, are still evading arrest.
Investigation by the Bandlaguda police of the Hyderabad commissionerate revealed that Hajera Begum, after separating from her husband, allegedly entered prostitution due to financial difficulties. She later transitioned into running a racket, partnering with other accused to expand her operations from the Old City to the New City of Hyderabad.
The modus operandi involved Rupa, a Bangladeshi national from Dhaka, who illegally smuggled minor girls into India. Begum would then house these girls and, with the help of co-accused, send them to clients at various hotels and a rented apartment in Mehdipatnam. The accused used free encrypted messaging apps like IMO to communicate and frequently changed the girls' locations to avoid police detection.
Great Escape
The crime came to light when one of the victims managed to escape from an auto-rickshaw near Aramghar and approached the Mailardevpally police station.
According to the victim’s statement, she was lured from Bangladesh by Rupa, who convinced her to visit India under false pretenses, only to be trafficked into prostitution upon arrival in Hyderabad. During her time in Bangladesh, the victim would often stop to see Rupa on her walk home from school. Their conversations became a familiar routine. Rupa, who did embroidery work on sarees, would speak in a soft, gentle tone, frequently complimenting the girl on her beauty. This grooming process laid the groundwork for what was to come.
In February 2025, Rupa presented an alluring offer, a secret trip to India, which she described as a wonderful place to visit. She insisted the plan be kept from the girl’s family, warning, “They would not let her go.” The victim agreed. Under the cover of darkness, they crossed a river by boat, illegally entering India with the girl pretending to be Rupa’s daughter. The journey continued by train from Kolkata to Hyderabad, where the promise of a visit shattered. Upon arrival, they went directly to Shahnaaz’s house in Mehdipatnam. There, in a moment that sealed her fate, Rupa handed the victim over to Shahnaaz and left. This chilling account was later narrated by the victim to a woman police officer and formed the core of the official statement released by Hyderabad police at the time of the arrests.
Begum, along with Shahnaaz and Sameer, forced her into sexual exploitation under threats of legal repercussions for illegal migration, she endured months of abuse before managing to escape and approach the Bandlaguda Police Station.
“While Sameer had dropped her at the hotel and while he had gone to park his auto, she crossed the road and ran to the Police Station and upon enquiry, she gave the above statement to the woman Police Officer,” said Hyderabad police in a statement.
Upon this detailed statement, the Detective Inspector (DI) of Bandlaguda police station registered the case, took up the investigation, and apprehended the accused persons from their respective residences, Begum from Ismail Nagar, Shahnaaz from Mehdipatnam, and Sameer from Hafez Baba Nagar on 08.08.2025 while they were trying to flee to unknown locations. Apart from the complainant, three more victims of immoral trafficking who were brought by Sarwar and Rupa from West Bengal and handed over to Shahnaaz were also rescued from the room at Mehdipatnam, which was taken on rent.
The case, registered under stringent sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Prevention of Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (PIT) Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, involves a complex network of accused operating across borders.
As a part of evidence gathering, the victim underwent a medical termination of pregnancy, and the fetus was preserved at FSL for DNA profiling, which is crucial evidence in the ongoing investigation.
Key accused Hajera Begum granted bail
In a recent development, the Nampally court has ordered Hajera Begum's release on the execution of a personal bond of Rs. 10,000 with two sureties of a like amount on Friday. She has been directed to fully comply with all bond conditions, cooperate with the investigation and trial, not intimidate or influence any witnesses, and not leave India without explicit permission from the court.
