16-Year-Old Rescued from Prostitution Racket in Dwarka: Recounts Year of Rape, Coercion, and Threats

New Delhi: A 16-year-old girl, bruised and exhausted, was rescued from a prostitution racket during a raid conducted by the Dwarka Police with the help and information provided by Association for Voluntary Action. The child revealed that she was trafficked into the trade nearly a year ago and was forced to attend to 8 to 10 clients every night. While a trafficker has been arrested and the FIR lodged, the police are on the lookout for others involved in the racket.

Tara (name changed) confessed that whenever she complained of pain, she was given painkillers to suppress the symptoms and sent back to work. For her labour, she was handed only ₹500 and that too neither frequently nor voluntarily. When she begged to leave, the traffickers threatened her with videos they had recorded, warning her that they would be leaked if she resisted or tried to escape.

A year ago, Tara was lured by a friend who told her that she would introduce her to someone who will solve all her financial problems.

“My friend introduced me to one bhaiya who promised me lot of money. I did not realize what I was being pushed into. As soon as I understood and I wanted to quit, they threatened me and said that if I tried escaping, they would make my videos public,” Tara said. Tara’s mother died years ago, and she lives with her father who is an alcoholic. When asked if Tara’s father knew what she does, Tara nodded her head in a no.

“He doesn’t know. I have told him that I work in a call centre so my work hours are at night,” She said, her voice and head lowered. Every day, at around 5 in the evening she leaves home and attends clients till 5-6 in the morning. Every day without any leaves, anywhere five to ten customers visited her.

“Our team posed as customers and got in touch with the linchpin. It took us almost a month to gain his trust. Finally after much dilly dallying, advance online payment and change of location, he finally called us to Dwarka. We immediately informed Dwarka’s Western Range DCP Ankit Kumar Singh who promptly informed his team and prepared for the raid,” Manish Sharma, Senior Director, Association for Voluntary Action, said. Association for Voluntary Action is a partner of Just Rights for Children which is the country’s largest network of over 250 NGOs working for child protection in 418 districts across the country.

The accused once again changed the address last minute and called them to a flat in Mohan Garden near Dwarka. DCP Singh immediately coordinated with the Mohan Garden police station to ensure that the raid was conducted.

When the team reached the spot, they found numerous empty bottles of alcohol, antibiotic tablets to treat vaginal infections, painkillers along with other medicines in the flat. While one man named Ibrahim has been arrested, the team believes that there is an entire gang involved in this racket.

Thanking the law enforcement agencies for their prompt and coordinated action, Manish Sharma said, “It is commendable how the police immediately sprang into action as soon as we informed them. But the fact that such rackets are being run in our own neighbourhoods in New Delhi is alarming. Moreover, we have witnessed many such isolated cases of prostitution in home-based settings or through massage parlours post-COVID. We believe these networks can be dismantled more effectively if we follow the money. With so many customers transferring payments through online modes, tracking this financial trail can help us identify and apprehend the entire chain involved in the exploitation.”

It must be noted here that many vulnerable children from states such as Bihar, Jharkhand, North East and West Bengal are often trafficked to metro cities and forced into such sex rackets.