In early March, our team discovered that Amana, a 16-year-old girl we were tracking in Madhya Pradesh, had been moved to a brothel in Mumbai. (Victims are frequently relocated to make them harder to find.) After acquiring information, we headed to Amana's new location. A fast, approaching car hit our team's vehicle on the way to the brothel, so we stopped at the hospital to make sure no one was injured before continuing to the brothel. After confirming that Amana was still at the location, we scheduled to meet with the police the next day to rescue her.
On March 15, at 11 a.m., we met with the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). We shared our intel about Amana and requested that he initiate a raid. The DCP directed us to a police station that would lead the rescue operation.
At 5:18 p.m., we met and briefed the senior police officer about Amana. After finalizing a rescue strategy, we proceeded to the brothel.
At 6:05 p.m., we were waiting for the police to raid the brothel together, and an unexpected problem arose. The police wanted to delay the rescue operation, so we agreed to raid the brothel later that day.
At 7:15 p.m., the police and our team proceeded to the brothel. On our way, we saw the pimp, Ruhana, a woman who appeared to be in her late 20s. The police immediately arrested her, and then we continued to the brothel. We met another pimp, Janvi, a woman who appeared to be in her early 30s. The police arrested her, then we entered the brothel and looked for Amana. On the first floor, we found a locked room. We broke it open and found Amana hiding in the bathroom. She was visibly distressed. The police and our team rescued Amana, and the police collected evidence from the brothel.
At 8:15 p.m., after the police completed their reports, we proceeded to the police station with Amana and the two pimps.
On March 16, at 2:45 a.m., the police completed filing the First Information Report (FIR). We ensured that sections including POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses), ICP (Indian Penal Code), and ITPA (The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act) were added to the FIR report in order to strengthen Amana’s case.
At 3:12 a.m., we accompanied Amana to a basic medical checkup, after which she was placed in a temporary shelter home.
Later that morning, we visited the police station to hear an update on Amana’s case, and we were told that she would be presented before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on March 19. We then accompanied Amana to a detailed medical examination, which only ended at 10 p.m. because the doctor was in an operating theater for part of the day. We then accompanied Amana to the shelter home where she was placed.
On March 19, we accompanied Amana to the CWC, where she gave her statement. Amana will soon share her 164 statement, which is a voluntary statement about her experience at the brothel and the names of her offenders.