On February 5, 2025, we learned of a child being exploited at a guest house in Kolkata. As we investigated the case, we discovered that the pimp responsible for exploiting her was 33-year-old Sarika, who was wanted and absconding from other trafficking cases.
After collecting sufficient information, we called the Officer in Charge (OC) of Kolkata’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU). He asked us to meet him at his office.
On February 7, we visited the AHTU and shared our intel and evidence. The OC of the AHTU agreed to initiate a raid on February 11. He also requested documents to prove the victim’s age in order to carry out an immediate rescue with no delays.
On February 10, we called the OC to confirm the rescue scheduled for the following day. He asked us to meet him at his office at 12 p.m. on February 11 prior to the raid. We informed him that we did not find any documents proving that the victim was a minor, but that we were certain based on seeing her that she was between 15 and 16 years old. The OC took our word and decided to proceed with the rescue.
On February 11, our team gathered to plan the rescue operation. We arrived at the AHTU at 12 p.m. and then proceeded with the AHTU to the Kasba Police Station. We arrived at the Kasba Police Station at 2:06 p.m. and discussed rescue strategies together.
At 2:26 p.m., the police and our team raided the guest house in Kolkata, and rescued the child, Awanti, on the 2nd floor. The police and our team checked every other room; most were occupied by adult couples. We found no other minors at the guest house. The police allowed the couples to leave but detained the male guest house manager and the female brothel keeper and pimp, Sarika. When the police interrogated Sarika, she denied knowing that Awanti was a minor.
The police then interviewed Awanti. We learned that she was 15 years old and had been sexually exploited for over a month in various brothels within hotels and private establishments. The owner of the hotel had raped her on February 8, just three days before she was rescued.
As per a new Indian security code, Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which came into force in 2024 to reform India's criminal justice system, the police filmed the entire search procedure. They then collected incriminating evidence from the guest house. After the police completed their post-rescue procedures, we proceeded to the Kasaba Police Station with Awanti and the two accused.
At the police station, the police registered the First Information Report (FIR). We then accompanied Awanti to her general medical examination. The 33-year-old brothel keeper and pimp, Sarika, and the 46-year-old guest house manager, Jayant, were arrested and taken into police custody.
At 3:48 a.m. on February 12, Awanti was placed in a shelter home for children. Later that day, we accompanied her to Kolkata’s Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
On February 18, Awanti recorded her 164 statement (a voluntary statement in which the victim shares her experience of being exploited and the names of the accused). before the POCSO court. Awanti is currently safe at a shelter home in Kolkata.
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