Bihar Job Scam: Over 150 Women Held Captive, Raped & Abused

For months, a nightmarish call centre operated in Muzaffarpur, Bihar.

DBR Networking, the company behind it, advertised on social media, including Facebook, seeking female applicants for positions at their call centre. The job promised a bright future but came with a condition: applicants had to pay ₹ 20,000 for training in Muzaffarpur.

Upon arrival, the training would commence, but so would a harrowing cycle of mental torture, fraud, and, in some instances, rape and forced abortions, according to police officials.

A First Information Report (FIR) filed by one of the survivors on 2 June revealed the grim reality. She responded to what she believed was a genuine advertisement and arrived at the company's Muzaffarpur centre, joining around 150 other women. She connected with one of the accused, Tilak Kumar Singh, and along with the others, was trained to scam people over the phone.

The women faced mental torture if they failed to meet targets, and the survivor who filed the FIR reported being raped when she fell short. She alleged that Tilak Kumar Singh sexually assaulted her multiple times and forced her to undergo an abortion when she became pregnant.

The FIR names nine people, with the primary accused being Manish Kumar Singh, a Noida resident and the company's owner.

Tilak Kumar Singh has been detained and is currently under interrogation, according to an official. Efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining eight suspects.