5 minor girls rescued in F’bad

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, April 24

The police recovered five minor girls from Jharkhand, who were “sold” to persons here as domestic help, in the past three days. Two of them were rescued on Tuesday.

They are likely to be rehabilitated soon under the supervision of the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR).

BK Goel, a member of the SCPCR, said the girls were trafficked a few years ago from Godda district of Jharkhand.

“They were subjected to financial and physical exploitation. They were rescued following the arrest of a trafficker, Mani Mishra, last week. The girls are in the custody of the Child Welfare Council (CWC). The efforts will be made to send the girls to their homes,” he said.

Goel claimed a human trafficking racket was operative in the National Capital Region (NCR). “The authorities are searching for the kingpin of the gang, who might be responsible for trafficking of hundreds of girls in the past 10 years.”

The SCPCR member said 15 girls had been rescued from Faridabad in a year. “Trafficked girls were not only deprived of their wages, but many of them were victims of sexual abuse,” he alleged.

One of the victims said she was deprived of wages for four years and made to work on two meals a day.

HS Malik, the head of the Child Welfare Coucil, said: “About 4,000 cases of child abuse have surfaced in the district in the past four years. The police will be asked to book those employing minor girls.”