Choreographer Ivan arrested on allegations of sex trafficking
A team of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police has arrested dancer and choreographer Ivan Shahriar Sohag for his alleged involvement with a racket that traffics women to Dubai.
The Dhaka Metro North division of the CID nabbed him yesterday night, Sheikh Md Rezaul Haider, additional deputy inspector general (DIG) of the CID told The Business Standard.
One Md Yasin who was arrested over a human trafficking case filed with Lalbagh police station on July 2 in his confessional statement at the court on July 20 spoke about Ivan Shahriar's involvement with sex trafficking to Dubai.
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He also said that he alone sent more than 100 girls to Dubai.
Yasin, in his statement, also told the court that he had two dance academies named Modern and Nirmal Dance Academy is Narayanganj.
The academies used to provide performers at social events like gaye holud (turmeric ceremony), wedding and birthday parties.
Yasin came across someone named Najim on an occasion and he proposed Yasin to visit his academies.
Later, Najim and another person named Russel visited Yasin's dance academy in Narayanganj.
Najim told Yasin that he had four dance clubs in Dubai and the artistes of the dance academies can avail jobs there.
"As you run two dance clubs, you may know Apurba, Akter, Sohag and Goutam," Najim asked Yasin, adding that these people are big fishes in Dhallywood and they all work for famous actresses.
Najim promised Tk50,000 monthly salary to the dance academy girls if they go to Dubai. Being lured, some girls gave their passport details to Najim.
Two girls initially left Dhaka for Dubai and Yasin got Tk30,000 for them. Just after three months, the duo returned home since they were forced into sex-trafficking abroad and never got the promised salary.
In the meantime, Yasin started receiving more and more orders of sending girls for social events, foreign club dancers and YouTube performances.
He brought the girls to the clients, received money for each girl and returned to Narayanganj.
"When I checked back on the girls, they have supplied for nearly two to three years. I got no trace of the girls after that. All of the girls might have ended into sex trafficking in Dubai," confessed Yasin.
