Trafficked minors sacrificed at age altar; POCSO eludes culprits

Minors are being increasingly smuggled into brothels and, when rescued, several of them are being declared as adults, sparing the POCSO rod for immoral traffickers and further spoiling the future of the traumatised children.
This came to light recently after Rescue Foundation, an NGO working with sex workers, was able to trace the families of three minors and obtain their age proofs.But, by then, the forensic department at Sassoon General Hospital had declared them as adults, resulting in the handlers getting booked only for immoral trafficking — and promptly securing bail for themselves — as opposed to being charged under the stringent Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, which is non-bailable.
“The age of the rescued girl makes a lot of difference. If a victim is a minor, then the pimp and those involved in trafficking are to be booked under the Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act (ITPA) and the stringent POCSO Act, in which bail is difficult. Moreover, at rescue homes, the rehabilitation for minors and adults is different,” shared Shiny Padiyara, superintendent of the Rescue Foundation’s Pune shelter.
The foundation has informed the police and also written to the Sassoon authorities about the incident, after which an inquiry has been ordered at the hospital. Anita Wipat, chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), said, “I have written to the Sassoon authorities, informing them about repeated incidents of this kind happening at the hospital, and recommending some alternative arrangement for age verification of victims of sexual abuse.
We have forwarded these three cases to Aundh General Hospital for a second opinion. But in such cases where there is an ambiguity, we usually wait for documents and get them verified from more than one hospital.” Padiyara explained that in case of adults, repatriation with families happens much faster and, often, the girl lands up in the flesh trade within days of being let off. In case of minors, however, cases are referred to special authorities and victims are kept under supervision or at shelter homes till they come of age. “Most importantly, the case is tried in special courts and the trail gets over faster,” added Padiyara. Rescue Foundation stated that there have been dozens of such cases in the past.
The three cases pertain to minors named Swati, Meera and Kajal (names changed to protect their identity), who were rescued from brothels under the jurisdiction of Faraskhana police station this year. Swati was rescued in July, while Meera and Kajal were picked up in September and December respectively. In keeping with the standard procedure after rescue, they were taken to Sassoon hospital, where tests were carried out to ascertain their ages. In every case, the forensic department was quick to conclude that they were above 18 years of age, but below 20 years.
On the basis of these reports, cops from Faraskhana police station booked the accused under the ITPA and sent Swati, Meera and Kajal to Rescue Foundation’s shelter at Mohammedwadi. As is done in all such cases, the foundation began looking for the victims’ families. With the help of partner NGOs, they were able to trace their families to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bangaldesh. Once contact with the families was established, the social workers were stunned to find that all three girls were minors. While Swati from UP was 17, Meera from WB was 15 and Kajal from Bangaldesh was 16 years old.
Padiyara stressed that incidents of minors getting certified as majors by forensic experts are common. However, in case of Swati, Meera and Kajal, they have conclusive evidence of being minor through their birth certificates and school leaving certificates. “We have now written to the police station to book the accused in all the three cases under the POCSO Act. But we were told that the accused are already out on bail. We have also approached the courts with fresh evidence of these victims being minors,” she added.
A letter by Rescue Foundation to Sassoon hospital authorities stated, “Our staff members risk their lives and conduct these raids (to rescue vic-tims from the flesh trade). But, as the (forensic) tests showed that the girls were adults, traffickers obtained bail easily and got away with such serious crimes (of pushing minors into the flesh trade and sexually abusing them).” Dr Ajay Taware, head of the forensic department at Sassoon hospital explained that the age of a person is determined after going through dental and radiological tests. “We will now conduct an inquiry and get to the bottom of the issue,” he insisted.
When Mirror contacted Rekha Salunkhe, senior inspector of Faraskhana police station, she said, “As for the three cases, we have established that the victim is a minor in one case and accordingly booked the accused under the POCSO Act. The remaining two are under scrutiny.”
¦ I have written to the Sassoon authorities, informing them about repeated incidents of this kind happening at the hospital, and recommending some alternative arrangement for age verification of victims of sexual abuse
– Anita Wipat, chairperson, Child Welfare Committee
Bitter PIL for Pune police
Freedom Firm, an NGO working with sex workers, had filed a criminal public interest litigation (PIL) against Pune police last year, alleging that they had gone slow on acting against offenders in 42 cases of trafficking. All the accused had been at large after securing bail. The court had come down heavily on the Pune cops and even summoned then police chief K K Pathak to court. On October 30 this year, Justice Roshan Dalvi and Justice Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi gave a detailed order and even laid down guidelines for dealing with cases of trafficking.
“This petition manifests, demonstrates and exposes the stark reality of the plight of the most helpless creatures of our society, who are trafficked into prostitution after being drawn into the dark alleys of the society by deceit or force. They are sometimes rescued upon the efforts of Good Samaritans. A case of trafficking under ITPA read with Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 and other allied provisions comes to be registered. This is the harbinger for various tribulations and travails to befall the helpless rescued victims. The accused applies for anticipatory bail and is readily granted that. If the accused is arrested, even then he or she is often released on bail and not only absconds pending the trial, but repeats the offence. The trial remains at that. The police machinery is required for righting the wrong. It rarely succeeds in the efforts and justice remains out of bounds. The victim is far from reaching the doors of justice,” read the judges’ statement.