Two minor girls have been rescued from a brothel in northern India where one of the girls had been trapped for over a year. Both girls had been deceived into leaving home for job opportunities but were instead forced into prostitution. The traffickers threatened that if the girls did not work, their families would be made to suffer. To further isolate the girls and avoid their detection, the traffickers falsified documents identifying the girls as adults (over 18 years old).
When the local Justice Hub partners were made aware of the brothel, they partnered with police authorities and executed a rescue operation. Both minor girls were rescued and two traffickers were arrested, one being the brothel owner himself.
After the traffickers were in police custody, the facts of the case were presented to the local chief judicial officer. As a defense to the crime of trafficking of children, the perpetrators presented the false identification documents and claimed that the minors were consenting adults. Often, during the legal process, identification documents are accepted without question or examination, allowing traffickers to evade punishment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO).
However, this judge’s decision to take a pause and deliberate resulted in a better ending for these girls. Read here to find out what happened.
