5 victims rescued from a brothel in the outskirts of Chandrapur, Maharashtra
August 25th we learned about a female brothel keeper who was running a brothel in the outskirts of Chandrapur, Nagpur, and forcing many minors into prostitution. We verified the information and then shared it with the Superintendent of Police in Chandrapur. We showed evidence that a suspected minor was being exploited. He agreed to initiate a raid and rescue the victims.
The next step was to connect with the local police in the area who would carry out the raid. We left right away to meet them and were happy to learn that the Superintendent had already made his team ready for the rescue operation. We reached the police station in 45 minutes, and after a quick briefing with police there, proceeded to the location.
We confirmed that the suspected minor we were tracking was in the brothel, then started the raid. We found and rescued the victim we had traced. We also found four other women in the brothel and rescued them as well. The police arrested the brothel owner, a woman who appeared to be in her 50s. This brothel had been running since 1982. The police also arrested the brothel keeper, a woman in her 30s who was also present at the time of the raid.
After collecting all the evidence, the victims, the accused and our teams proceeded to the police station. All the victims were from Andhra Pradesh and with the help of a Telugu translator, the police were able to record their statements. The victims shared that none of their family members knew that they were being sexually exploited in brothels. They believed that they were working in supermarkets, malls, and as caretakers for children… Every survivor shared how they got trapped and forced into prostitution.
The police completed the First Information Report, FIR, late into the night at 1:30 am. We accompanied the victims for their medical tests after the FIR. Once their medicals were completed, they were placed in a shelter home.
