Finally Acknowledging Victims as Victims!

Suspected minors at the brothel

On November 8, we received a lead for a minor girl who had been forced into prostitution in Agra’s red-light area. The following morning, we visited Agra to verify the information. 

On November 9, after verifying the information, we visited the Assistant Commissioner of Police’s (ACP) office to ask him to initiate a raid. He said he was in the middle of some official work and asked us to come to his office the next day. When we returned on November 10, he was still unavailable to initiate a rescue.

That same day, we visited the Commissioner of Police’s (CP) office, but because the Chief Minister (CM) was visiting Agra, the CP was unavailable. We returned to the ACP, and he informed us that most of the police personnel were involved in the CM’s visit. He assured us that he would initiate a raid on the 11th and would involve the ACP, Crime, and a senior female officer who specializes in crimes committed against women in the rescue operation.

At 2:00 p.m. on November 11, we discussed rescue strategies with officers of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, AHTU, and other police personnel. Then together, we proceeded to the brothel.

The police and our team outside the brothel

Puspa (right)

At 4:00 p.m., the police and our team raided the brothel in Agra. We found the suspected minor, Puspa, in one of the rooms. We also found four other women victims in the brothel. All of the victims had documentation that stated they were 19-26 years old. Puspa’s documentation stated that she was 20 years old, but we later obtained her school certificate, which identified her as 19. (We needed to wait for the victims’ medical tests to verify their ages.)

Customers who were arrested at the brothel

Collecting evidence at the brothel

The police arrested 12 people from the brothel: four brothel keepers and 8 customers. The police collected incriminating evidence from the brothel (condoms, beer cans, empty water bottles, and tissue paper) and completed their initial report. Our teams and the police then proceeded to the police station with the victims and the accused. After collecting the victims' details, the police ordered them to be placed at a One-Stop Centre (a temporary shelter for women in distress). 

Scenes from inside the brothel during the raid

The brothel manager

The red-light area

On November 12, the victims appeared before Allahabad's Child Welfare Committee.

The victims attended their medical tests on November 14.

On November 15, we discussed the case with a senior police official.

On November 16, a Special Police officer with the authority of the District Magistrate placed all five victims in a shelter home for women in Agra. This was a landmark decision and a personal victory; in the majority of our previous cases, the police treated victims over 18 years old as accused and detained them in police custody. We celebrate the police treating these major women rescued from prostitution as victims, and allowing them to be placed in safety! We are hopeful that our government and authorities will continue to fight crimes committed against women and children 

Your partnership enables our team to fight for justice; every time we punish perpetrators we are one step closer to terminating trafficking.

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