30 November 2016: A 15-year-old girl from Assam was rescued by Mumbai police in the nick of time while she was in the process of being sold into the flesh trade. The girl was taken to Mumbai by a group of men, who had promised to get her a rewarding job, but were planning to push her into prostitution.
She was rescued by Juvenile Aid Police Unit (JAPU) officials on the intervening night of Sunday and Monday after they were informed that the girl was brought to the city on November 21 by handlers who were looking to strike a deal with a customer to sell her off.
A police source from JAPU said, “We received a tip-off from an NGO that the girl was kept in a room in the slums in Dahisar. We planned to nab the accused by sending in one of our men as a potential customer.”
Police sources added the arrested accused, identified as Majnu Ali Sardar, 28, quoted a price of Rs 1 lakh for the minor. “After arriving at a decision with the handler, we sent our decoy customer with the cash to the house where the girl was kept. As soon as the man entered the house and found the girl, he signalled the cops. Around six police officers, including a woman constable, raided the house and rescued the girl.”
In her statement to the police, the girl informed that she was brought to the city from Assam last week after a man told her family that she would earn a lot of money if she worked in Mumbai. “The girl, who has completed her SSC, said that her family trusted the men as they had always heard of a better livelihood in Mumbai. The girl did not know about the man’s intention until we rescued her.”
Police inspector Pravin Kadam from JAPU confirmed that the girl had been sent to a children’s home while Sardar was handed over to the Dahisar police. Meanwhile, a case has been registered under relevant sections of trafficking under the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.
Source: northeasttoday.in