Two 17-Year-Olds Rescued from Kolkata Red-Light District
Sex Trafficking
KOLKATA, INDIA – On June 2, Kolkata Police initiated a rescue operation and requested IJM’s help to find a number of girls suspected to have been trafficked into Sonagachi, one of the largest red-light districts in Kolkata. Together, we were able to rescue two 17-year-old girls who were forced to sell themselves for sex and faced constant physical abuse. Police also arrested two suspects—one brothel madam and one victim’s mother who sold her.
Police discovered two girls trafficked for sex in Kolkata’s most infamous red-light area. They asked IJM for help to rescue the victims on June 2, but when police and IJM entered the brothel, it was deserted.
The people inside the building said most of the girls left half an hour before. Upstairs, the team found two young women and two suspected perpetrators: the brothel madam and the victim’s mother who sold her. Meanwhile, a crowd coalesced outside.After gathering evidence, the team made it past the growing mob and into cars outside with the rescued victims and arrested suspects.
At the police station, one of the victims gave a statement in the report filed against her abusers. Both victims are only 17. Last night, they slept in a shelter home safe from abuse.
