Mumbai: A trafficking victim from Bangladesh, barely 12-years-old, was allegedly raped by 200 men over a period of three months. The matter came to light after she was rescued from a flesh trade racket in Vasai near Mumbai, The Times of India has reported. The police have taken 10 people into custody in this case till now and hope to make more arrests.
According to the report, the girl was rescued on July 26, following a joint operation by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Police, with assistance from NGOs Exodus Road India Foundation and Harmony Foundation.
The youngster fell into the trap laid by traffickers after failing in her school exams. Afraid of facing her parents, she accompanied a known woman, who promised her a good job in Mumbai. The traffickers then smuggled her across the Indo-Bangladesh border and sold to the flesh trade.
“At the remand home, the child said she was first taken to Nadiad in Gujarat and sexually abused by over 200 men in a span of three months. This girl is not even a teenager, but her childhood was stolen by such monsters in the flesh trade,” said Abraham Mathai, founder-chairman of Harmony Foundation.
He pointed out that this child’s ordeal is not a solitary tragedy. “Behind every such rescue, is another child who wasn’t heard; a child failed first by those meant to protect her, and then by a society that only reacts when it’s too late,” he said.
He added that sometimes, parents, despite good intentions, can unknowingly build walls instead of bridges with their children through strictness.
MBVV police commissioner Niket Kaushik assured the public that the police are “using their full force to unearth the entire network and ensure a safe environment for vulnerable adolescents.” Activists are not satisfied though.
“I have often seen minor girls begging in Vashi and Belapur areas. They are often stolen as babies from villages, brought to cities and then exploited. They are handled by one or two elderly women who also push them into prostitution. They are even administered hormonal injections so that they attain puberty earlier,” activist Madhu Shankar said.
