On 8th September, Freedom Firm’s investigation team found a minor girl in prostitution in a private building close to Ganga Jamuna, the red-light area in Nagpur. The same day when the team launched a raid with the help of local police, the operation resulted in a tip-off. When the team attempted a raid the next day, the area was tipped off once again in spite of the precautions that were taken.
Freedom Firm’s investigators went ahead anyway despite the area being on alert. When the investigator approached the brothel keeper, she told him that he would have to wait for a while to engage the girl as the area was on alert because of police surveillance. While our investigator was waiting to engage the girl, the police approached the brothel keeper and began to interrogate her.
The police and the team searched the entire four floors of the building in complete darkness. After searching the first three floors and finding no minor girl, the team searched the ground floor where they found a large cupboard with five lakhs worth of cash. In the kitchen, large enough for only one person at a time, our Liaison Officer noticed the walls in the kitchen were discolored in one corner. Thinking this odd, he hit the wall which broke and fell to the ground. Three girls were found inside this hidden cupboard.
The three girls, one minor and two borderline were rescued that day. The girls are in a safe shelter home where our aftercare staff will follow up with them. The brothel keeper was arrested, and a strong FIR was filed against her under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act.