Three held for pushing minor into flesh trade

The police said the minor had told them there are two more girls who were also forced into prostitution by the accused. Representation pic

The Malwani police have busted a sex racket that trapped minors and arrested an 18-year old boy, his uncle and aunt, in the case on Friday. The police said that the teenager used to trap young girls from troubled families in his locality by convincing them that he loved them, and his guardians then forced them into the flesh trade to ensure a quick buck on the pretext of collecting funds for the marriage expenses. The complainant has told the police that besides her, they trapped two other girls.

The matter came to light when a 16-year girl became pregnant. She did not reveal this to her mother who was suspicious, but told a friend of her mother who took the girl into confidence. The girl's mother, with the help of the local NGO Help for People Trust and Janmat Mahila Mandal, approached the Malwani police along with her and they filed a complaint on Thursday night. According to the police, the girl and her boyfriend, the accused Aman Khan, fell in love, and with the intention of getting a commitment for marriage, she started meeting him at his house. The police said they began a physical relationship a couple of months ago.

The trap

"Aman's uncle, Zahir Khan, in connivance with his wife Khatija, 32, told the girl that his nephew doesn't work and earn anything. So if she wanted to get married, she would have to bear all the expenses. The girl agreed but had no work. The accused's uncle forced her into prostitution. He used to get customers to his house, and charged from Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000per person. After giving only Rs 200 to the minor, he kept the rest of the money for himself. Along with the customer, the accused boyfriend and his uncle also had physical relations with the the girl and she became pregnant," said a police officer.

Sabera Shaikh, president of Janmat Mahila Mandal, added, "A person told me about this. We met the girl as well as her mother and convinced them to file the case so that such people won't trap any other innocent girl. We approached the police and filed a complaint."

The police said that the minor had told them that she was not the first victim, there are two more girls who were also forced into prostitution with similar modus operandi. The police are now searching for those girls too.

The targets

"During the investigation, we came to know that the Aman used to trap only those girls and force them into prostitution, whose parents' marriages were in trouble or whose mother had or father had left to marry someone else. Due to the family discord, girls do not get as much love from their parents at home as they should. In such situations, people like the accused give them false love and make them do wrong things," said Asif Shaikh, the president of Help for People Trust NGO. "I informed local MLA Aslam Shaikh in this context and requested him to pressure the police to take the strictest possible action against such people. I think like the accused, there are other people in Malwani who are involved in this disgusting business. They are ruining the lives of innocent girls," he added.

Senior Inspector Chimaji Adhav of the Malwani police station said, "We have arrested the three accused under the charges of rape, the POSCO and The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act."

18
Age of youngest accused