Six rescued from brothels

Six rescued from brothels

By IE
Friday July 13, 03:16 AM
Minor girls were lured to the city with promises of jobs For 16-year-old Mehrunisa Begum (name changed), the midnight knock at Kamathipura's 13 street on Wednesday was a knock of freedom. Mehrunisa was rescued by the Nagpada police during a raid on brothels.
Mehrunisa, a minor from Assam, was conned by a man who brought her to Mumbai promising "a job in Mumbai's flourishing beauty parlour business". She was, however, shocked to find herself in the sleazy lanes of Kamathipura. Mehrunisa was pushed into prostitution and raped repeatedly by many men, according to the police.
The police say after men forced themselves upon her a couple of instances, Mehrunisa just resigned to her fate.
"A customer traced her family in Assam," said Bapurao Pandule, the investigating officer of the case registered in Nagpada police station. After this, her brother was called to Mumbai. The police, along with an NGO, planned the entire raid after they collected inputs on the brothels and minors being pushed into the flesh trade. During the raid, which lasted for around two hours, the police rescued six minors, including Mehrunisa, who will now be sent back to their villages like Rupitarvali, Jalpaiguri and Naogaon.
"All of them were brought to the city with promises of recruitment in fancy beauty parlours with a hefty salary," said Pandule.
The police said that workers from the NGO were very co-operative and ensured that the girls gave correct inputs on their village and background. Unlike other raids, the police personnel ensured that they handled the women well as they offered them help in going back to their hometowns. Hunt is on for the men who lured them to Mumbai after promising them jobs. The owners of the brothels were charged under relevant sections of the Immoral Trafficking Act.