17 Trafficked Girls Rescued

New Delhi: Seventeen tribal girls, who are victims of child labour and human trafficking, have been rescued from different areas in Delhi. Two persons operating a placement agency have been arrested.The raids were carried out by a Jharkhand Police team, assisted by Delhi Police and an NGO, Mission Mukti Foundation. An officer from Jharkhand Police said all the girls are from Sahebganj district in Jharkhand and were trafficked with the promise of gainful employment. They were employed as domestic workers.“The trafficker brought the girls from the villages and handed them over to various agencies and received Rs 35,000 for each girl,” an NGO official involved in the rescue said.The NGP offcial added that on Jan 23, a person contacted Jharkhand Bhawan in Delhi and said that six girls hadbeen trafficked and needed to be rescued.“Jharkhand Bhawan immediately contacted Mission Mukti Foundation, which took help from National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). The team, with the help of Delhi police, raided the placement agency in south Delhi and rescued one girl and nabbed two people,” the NGO official said. Mission Mukti Foundation said it had information that the agency had employed 20 girls across Delhi-NCR. Later, the Jharkhand Police reached Delhi.“Jharkhand Police, with the support of Delhi Police, rescued 16 girls. The operation is still on,” an officer said. The girls were rescued from Civil Lines, Fatehpur Beri, Amar Colony and other areas in the city.The arrested were identified as Rajni and Ansul Ansari. They were taken to Jharkhand in three days’ police remand. “We're investigating the placement agency's operational history and potential links to traffickers,” the officer said.Virender Kumar Singh from Mission Mukti Foundation said: “A gram sevak was trafficking the girls. He got Rs 35,000 per girl. This time the placement agency denied him the amount. He then shared information with Jharkhand Bhawan. Two of the girls have accused two men of sexually assaulting and threatening them.” Police are investigating the claims and raids are on to nab the trafficker.One victim said that she never wanted to leave her ailing mother. However, a woman from her village, named Rajni, lured her with promises of good pay and easy work. “The woman at the placement agency beat me up and threatened me with dire consequences,” she said. “Despite pleading with her to return home, she told me I'd go back after one or two months of work. Sadly, I stayed for three months and the agency’s owner kept my salary.”The victim also reported physical abuse, alleging that she was hit with a rollingpin. Another girl corroborated the account, saying that thewoman subjected them to harsh treatment.