15 minor girls rescued, seven orchestra owners held in Saran

Most of the rescued girls bore visible injury marks on their bodies. They had been trafficked from Punjab, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh.

As many as 15 minor girls were rescued from Bihar’s Saran district in a joint raid conducted by the Saran Police with the members of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and NGOs Association for Voluntary Action, officials said on Friday. Seven orchestra owners were arrested for trafficking the victims to work as dancers in Bihar under the pretext of getting them a job.

15 minor girls rescued, seven orchestra owners held in Saran

Most of the rescued girls bore visible injury marks on their bodies. They had been trafficked from Punjab, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh. All the girls have been placed in shelter homes.

The raids were conducted under the directions of ADG (Weaker Section) Amit Kumar Jain and on the orders of the Saran SP. The operation began after midnight and continued until the early hours of the morning. While twelve of them were rescued from orchestra premises falling under Revelganj and Kopa police stations area, the owner of Khushi Orchestra pushed three girls into a car and attempted to flee. After an eight-kilometer hot chase, the accused was apprehended and the three minor were rescued.

All the rescued girls stated that they were subjected to physical and sexual abuse and were forced to dance to vulgar songs before audiences. “The minor girls were forced to perform at night in orchestra groups on obscene songs. They were denied full payment and were subjected to physical violence and verbal abuse,” said in the FIR registered with the Woman Police station on the basis of the statement of its SHO Khusbu Kumari.

The FIR has been registered under sections including 143(1), 145 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, POCSO Act, 2012, Section 79 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and Section 16 of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act against seven accused persons identified as Deepak Kumar Yadav, Harishankar Manjhi, Sanjit Kumar Manjhi, Govind Kumar Yadav, Sandip Yadav, Binay Thakur and Mohit Kumar. The girls were produced before the Child Welfare Committee and shifted to Child Care Institution for further rehabilitation and counselling.

Police said, all the girls had visible marks of injury and abuse on their bodies, reflecting the extent of torture they endured at the hands of the orchestra operators. The orchestra groups raided included Kajal Orchestra, Sur Sangam Orchestra, Kopa Chatti Orchestra, Khushi Orchestra, Shyam Orchestra, and Diya Orchestra.

Manish Sharma, from Voluntary Action, said, “Orchestra groups form a critical link in the larger trafficking syndicate. These networks lure vulnerable girls from other states and subject them to abuse and exploitation. This case is investigated as part of an organized crime syndicate by the local police too and prosecuted accordingly. We also ensure immediate rehabilitation and reintegration of these young girls into the mainstream.”