On April 18, 2024, our social workers asked the Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) in Kolkata to help us conduct a rescue. We shared information about a suspected minor who was being forced into prostitution in a private brothel in Metiabruz, Kolkata. The officer said he would verify the information and keep us updated.
On April 22 and 23, our social workers met with the chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights, WBCPCR, and shared information about the victim. The WBCPCR agreed to support us, and we discussed various rescue strategies.
On April 24, we visited the AHTU, and scheduled a raid together for April 26.
On April 25, a representative from WBCPCR called to confirm the rescue for April 26. Later that evening, we received intel that the victim had gone out of town.
We waited for the victim to return.
On May 21, we received intel that the victim had returned to the private brothel. We contacted the AHTU to initiate a raid, but they said they needed special permission from the Court to proceed due to some legal issues.
On May 22, at 2:48 pm, the police and our team raided the private brothel. We found the victim, Nasheeda, in one of the rooms. The brothel keeper had three children with her (a 13 year old daughter, and two sons, ages seven and two). The police arrested the brothel keeper. After collecting evidence, the police and our team proceeded to the police station with the victim, the accused, and the accused’s children.
There was some confusion over Nasheeda’s age; her school certificate showed her age as 20, whereas her Aadhar card showed her age as 17. After speaking to the WBCPCR, the police ordered that Nasheeda be placed in a temporary shelter home. We accompanied Nasheeda to her medical tests, and then to a shelter home.
The accused was kept in police custody while her three children were placed in different children’s homes.
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