16-year-old girl rescued from prostitution racket in Dwarka

A 16-year-old girl was rescued from a prostitution racket during a raid conducted by the Dwarka Police on Tuesday. The child revealed that she was trafficked into the trade nearly a year ago and was forced to attend to 8 to 10 clients every night.

The minor confessed that whenever she complained of pain, she was given painkillers to suppress the symptoms and sent back to work. For her labour, she was handed only Rs 500 and that too neither frequently nor voluntarily. When she begged to leave, the traffickers threatened her with videos they had recorded, warning her that they would be leaked if she resisted or tried to escape.

A year ago, she was lured by a friend who told her that she would introduce her to someone who will solve all her financial problems.

“My friend introduced me to one ‘bhaiya’ who promised me lot of money. I did not realise what I was being pushed into. As soon as I understood and I wanted to quit, they threatened me and said if I tried to escape, they would make my videos public,” she said.

The minor lost her mother several years ago and currently lives with her alcoholic father. When asked whether he was aware of her situation, she silently shook her head, indicating he did not know.

“He doesn’t know. I have told him that I work in a call centre so my work hours are at night,” she said. Every day, she leaves home around 5 pm and attends clients till 5-6 am. Every day without any leave, anywhere five to 10 customers visited her.

“Our team posed as customers and got in touch with the linchpin. It took us almost a month to gain his trust. Finally, after much dilly-dallying, advance online payment and change of location, he finally called us to Dwarka. We immediately informed Dwarka’s Western Range DCP Ankit Kumar Singh who promptly informed his team and prepared for the raid,” Manish Sharma, Senior Director, Association for Voluntary Action, said. Association for Voluntary Action is a partner of Just Rights for Children which is a network of over 250 NGOs working for child protection.

The accused once again changed the address last minute and called them to a flat in Mohan Garden near Dwarka. DCP Singh immediately coordinated with the Mohan Garden police station to ensure that the raid was conducted.

When the team reached the spot, they found several empty bottles of alcohol, antibiotic tablets to treat vaginal infections and painkillers, along with other medicines, in the flat.

While one man named Ibrahim has been arrested, the police have lodged an FIR under Section 143(4) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which pertains to the offense of human trafficking, specifically involving the exploitation of a child.

“We have witnessed many such isolated cases of prostitution in home-based settings or through massage parlors post-Covid. We believe these networks can be dismantled more effectively if we follow the money. With so many customers transferring payments through online modes, tracking this financial trail can help us identify and apprehend the entire chain involved in the exploitation,” Sharma said.