Uzbek Women Arrested In Lucknow Linked To Human Trafficking Racket, Plastic Surgeon Also Involved
Sources revealed that Lola Kayumova, a foreign national living illegally in India despite an Interpol lookout notice against her, played a role in arranging shelter for the women
What began as a routine arrest of two Uzbek women without valid documents in the Sushant Golf City area of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, has now ballooned into a high-stakes investigation uncovering an elaborate international trafficking and sex racket. The case, officials say, points to a powerful syndicate that not only facilitates illegal entry of foreign women into India via Nepal but also helps them establish fake Indian identities with fabricated documents and even altered appearances.
The two Uzbek nationals, Holida and Nilofer, were detained for lacking passports and visas. But investigators soon discovered that they were pawns in a far-reaching network that stretches from New Delhi to Nepal, and all the way back to Uzbekistan. The syndicate allegedly smuggles women across the Indo-Nepal border, confiscates their original documents, and disperses them to various Indian cities through a network of brokers for prostitution and possibly more sinister activities.
Police sources reveal that Lola Kayumova, a foreign national living illegally in India despite an Interpol lookout circular against her, played a central role in arranging shelter for Holida and Nilofer in Lucknow. She reportedly secured them an apartment in Omaxe R2 through her associates, Trijinraj alias Arjun Rana and a local doctor named Vivek Gupta.
Lola's backstory reads like a screenplay. To cement her presence in India, she married twice – first to Trijinraj, originally from Kerala but now residing in Lucknow's Telibagh area, and later claimed another man, Janak Pratap Singh, as her husband. Using forged documents, including a marriage certificate with Janak, she managed to obtain an Aadhaar card and driving licence. The local police, officials now admit, failed to thoroughly verify the paperwork during routine tenancy verification.
With these forged identities, Lola is believed to have orchestrated the movement of multiple women from Uzbekistan into India, bypassing immigration checks by using Nepal as a transit hub. The racket appears to have been operating in plain sight.
The investigation has taken a darker turn with revelations during the interrogation of the two Uzbek women. They disclosed that Dr Vivek Gupta, a Lucknow-based plastic surgeon, conducted cosmetic procedures on them, allegedly to alter their facial features to resemble Indian women and thus dodge biometric recognition systems.
Authorities are now scrutinising Dr Gupta's role in the operation, especially after discovering a cryptocurrency wallet on one of the women's mobile phones. Transactions linked to the wallet suggest that Gupta may have accepted payments for the surgeries in crypto, potentially to avoid detection.
Both Trijinraj and Dr Gupta have been named in the FIR along with Lola Kayumova, and police have launched a manhunt to trace their whereabouts. Investigators are also trying to ascertain whether any elements of this operation are linked to anti-national activities, although they say it is too early to draw definitive conclusions.
The detained Uzbek women have undergone biometric analysis, and deportation proceedings have been initiated. Meanwhile, the police are working with central intelligence and immigration authorities to map the full extent of the syndicate's network.
First Published:
June 26, 2025, 18:27 IST
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