On September 3, 2024, we received intel that a minor victim we were tracking for weeks was forced into prostitution at a hotel in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh. After discussing the case, we proceeded to Moradabad and arrived at 7 a.m. on September 5.
We arrived at the police station at 12 p.m. and met the circle officer (a special police officer appointed by Uttar Pradesh state under the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act). After discussing the case, we agreed to initiate a raid and notified an officer with the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit. We scheduled a raid for 6 p.m.
Shortly before 6 p.m., we learned that the victim would only be at the hotel at 7:30 p.m. We updated the police with this information, then waited for another update. After 8 p.m., we learned that the victim was back at the hotel.
At 8:19 p.m., the police and our team raided the hotel. We found 15-year-old Nithya. We also found a woman with a man in another room (we later learned he was her boyfriend). They both ran to the window to escape. The man jumped out of the window and ran away, but we were able to stop the woman.
The police gathered evidence from the hotel and arrested three people: the pimp, the hotel owner, and a customer. We then proceeded to the police station with the minor victim, the woman, and the accused.
The police completed the First Information Report by 4:30 a.m. on September 6. We accompanied the victim to her medical test. Since the other woman was a major, the police released her without the authority of law.
On September 7, we accompanied 15-year-old Nithya to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). The CWC were angry that the police did not inform them about the rescue operation. After some arguing, they passed an order for Nithya to be placed in a shelter home.
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