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Bangladesh: 19 Children Rescued From Trafficker Intending to Sell Them to Radical Islamic Centers

  • Religion Today Religious persecution, missions, Christianity around the world
  • Published Feb 15, 2013

According to International Christian Concern, 19 children who were to be sold to fundamentalist Islamic boarding schools (madrassas) in Bangladesh have been rescued. Traffickers lied to the children's parents, saying they would take the children to Christian boarding schools in Dhaka, when in fact they were intending to sell the children to various madrassas. However, students from Dhaka University discovered the children -- ages 5 to 12 -- and rescued them from a trafficker named Binoy Tripura. Binoy confessed that he "collected the kids from their parents with lies and convinced them that [he] would admit all the kids to a missionary [Christian] school in Dhaka." He then collected 15,000 Taka (roughly $183 USD) from each of their parents and intended to receive payment from the madrassa upon delivery of the children. The children realized something was not right during their long bus journey to Dhaka, and 12 of the children ran away at a rest stop and called their parents to explain what was happening. The parents called local students attending Dhaka University for help, and the students met the bus in Bhaka, rescued the remaining six children and captured Binoy, who is now in police custody. It is not the first instance of traffickers targeting low-income Christian families due to their faith and vulnerability; this year alone, 55 children have been rescued from madrassas in Dhaka.