Saved from tunnel, girl recalls horror tale

In a letter written to the police commissioner, a girl rescued from the city’s red light area has recounted her traumatic experiences and demanded action against the traffickers who forced her into prostitution. Faizan Haider reports.

In a letter written to the police commissioner, a girl rescued from the city’s red light area has recounted her traumatic experiences and demanded action against the traffickers who forced her into prostitution.

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Two girls were recently rescued from the city’s red light area but the police are yet to make any arrests.

In a bid to save other girls, one of them has written to the police commissioner and urged the police to arrest the trafficker.

According to NGO Shakti Vahini, which was part of the rescue operation, the girls were found from two different tunnels that were barely enough for one person. “Tunnels are being used by brothel keepers for hiding trafficked girls during raids. The attic of the main floor was divided into small cubicles. In the last cubicle, there was a tunnel where the girl was crammed and hidden by the brothel manager,” Rishikant of Shakti Vahini NGO said.

The girls had been there for about one hour. “The tunnel had no ventilation and the only entry into the tunnel was a small wooden plank, which had to be kicked inside by two policemen to rescue the girls. The girls looked traumatised and shaken by the ordeal,” he added. The victim’s father, who was from West Bengal, had approached the NGO and provided a picture of his daughter.

A joint team of members of the NGO and local police was formed to conduct the raid. “She was kidnapped while on her way to school. But since the traffickers have not been arrested yet, the girl decided to write a letter to agencies concerned for some action,” he said.

“Whenever we get any inputs, we conduct raids to rescue girls who have been forced into prostitution,” said a senior police officer.

In her letter, the girl has given details of four traffickers and brothel managers and has demanded strict action against them. “I request the chairperson to take immediate action against the traffickers and the brothel keepers so that many girls like me can be saved from the racket,” she wrote in her letter, addressed to the National Commission for Women (NCW).