Bihar Human Trafficking and Orchestra Girl Selling Case

In March 2025, Bihar Police uncovered a human trafficking ring in Patna and surrounding districts where minor girls were lured under the pretext of jobs as orchestra troupe performers. The traffickers, including Raju Kumar and Pappu Kumar, promised families payment, then sold the girls into forced labor and sexual exploitation across multiple states. Anjali Kumari acted as a female recruiter to gain community trust. Authorities rescued several victims aged 12 to 16 following a Child Welfare Committee tip. The Special POCSO Court charged the defendants under human trafficking laws and the POCSO Act, treating the cultural cover of "orchestra bands" as a trafficking mechanism used to exploit vulnerable families in impoverished regions.

The Special POCSO Court in Patna convicted the primary traffickers in late 2025 under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act and POCSO Act, sentencing them to rigorous imprisonment; the victims were placed in state rehabilitation homes with compensation awarded.

Whether the recruitment for orchestra troupes constituted legitimate employment or a structured trafficking mechanism; disputes over the consent status of minors under commercial exploitation; challenges in establishing interstate trafficking links for prosecution.

The case exposed the widespread misuse of cultural performing groups like orchestra bands as fronts for child trafficking in rural Bihar. It prompted state-wide crackdowns on unregistered orchestras and increased scrutiny of placement agencies. Civil society groups intensified campaigns warning families against deceptive recruitment, and the judgment reinforced the application of the POCSO Act in labor trafficking contexts.