Working 24 hours per day and going to the zero level to get the news isn’t an easy task or a piece of cake for everyone. A reporter or journalist is known in various fields, from news channels to fashion. Journalists can be found today in many fields, but risking one’s own life and getting the best out of the news needs courage, patience, and perfection.
Mahima Singh – a journalist and reporter currently working at Dainik Bhaskar, one of the well-known newspaper publishing companies. Mahima Singh has been working there for several years, but she was not widely known. But this time, what she did is completely appreciated.
She went on a 5-day undercover mission in Bihar, where she lived in the environment of orchestra bands and exposed the trafficking of girls, especially minors, done by them on the promise of giving the girls jobs and letting them earn money. She also exposed these orchestra links, which were connected to many states.
Orchestra bands have made an image in our minds – a group of people beating drums, singing melodious songs loved by everyone, and together making a whole chorus that sounds pleasing to the crowd. These traits are the reason why orchestra bands are called on many occasions – from weddings to parties, from school functions to gigs. But who knew that they also had another side that needed to be seen?
Orchestra bands in Bihar were found to have connections from one state to another, especially in metro cities, to search for poor girls who were in need of jobs and willing to work. They promised them opportunities to earn money and involved them in orchestra bands, thus leading to the trafficking and sexual exploitation of those girls. It was also found that they were mainly taking minors into their teams.
These bands are not normal – they create orchestra groups with the sole motive of selling girls from one state to another. They also create other bands in different states for this purpose. They went to different weddings and functions and sold the girls.
This had been happening for a long time, but the courage shown by Dainik Bhaskar and reporter Mahima Singh brought everyone’s attention to it. Such work by women serves as a huge inspiration for others.
It is such a shame that in this century, where people have moved ahead in their lives, some people are still stuck in the same mentality of trafficking – humans, girls, or organs. News like this keeps coming almost every day, in one state and then another. We used to think that after the strict actions taken by the police, government, courts, or laws, people like these would stop, but the harsh reality is that no one usually cares about the repercussions that may happen afterwards.
This shows that they are not scared of anything. They believe that nothing is going to happen if they work in teams or groups. But our country has developed so much today and contains people like Mahima Singh, who do not care about their own lives but believe in bringing out the truth.
This is what a real journalist does – they risk their own lives, go to the situation directly, and expose it. Today, the districts of Siwan and Saran in the state of Bihar are under police surveillance, as these districts were known for controlling everything through these bands. Around 21 girls were rescued from the Siwan district alone.
The undercover operation highlighted not only the risks journalists take during sting investigations but also the hidden exploitation behind parts of the informal entertainment industry. Investigative reports like these have led to police action, arrests, and renewed public discussion about trafficking networks operating in rural and semi-urban India.
It is all a matter of trusting people. We belong to a place where trusting somebody doesn’t take much time, especially when the other person promises us money because, as it is said, money can make us do anything. But running behind money can sometimes make us blind to the real side of things.
Everything has two sides, and so we need to look at both sides to avoid getting caught in such situations.
But along with trusting people or strangers, it is also very important to become courageous like Mahima Singh, to know what is actually happening around us.
And the way Mahima Singh conducted the undercover investigation led the world to celebrate World Press Freedom Day (May 3, 2026). This has been widely praised as one of the bravest acts of journalism in recent Indian media.
References:
- Aaj Tak News Channel
- Dainik Bhaskar
- ABP News
- 101 Reporters