Our team tried to rescue 15-year-old Somi from West Bengal in April, but she was moved before we could get to her. On September 27, 2024, we received a new lead. Somi was forced into prostitution in a hotel in New Town, West Bengal, and she was scheduled to move again in a few weeks. We quickly presented this information to the Chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR).
On September 30, after confirming the intel, the WBCPRC called us to schedule a rescue. We requested to proceed immediately. As we were planning the rescue operation for that day, we received new intel: two other minors were at the hotel, but Somi was absent and would return on October 2. We decided to reschedule the rescue for October 2 so that we could also rescue Somi.
On October 2, we met with our team to discuss our rescue plan. As per the direction of the WBCPCR, we met the Inspector in Charge (IC) at Eco Park Police Station and gave him the official letter for the rescue operation.
Shortly after 5 p.m., we proceeded to the hotel. When we arrived, there was some confusion, so our team waited while the police addressed the situation.
At 7:33 p.m., the police and our team raided the hotel. We rescued two victims on the third floor from different rooms: 15-year-old Somi, and 16-year-old Rakhee. Apparently, the third victim had left a few minutes earlier to buy food. She did not return to the hotel.
The police arrested four people: two 24-year-old males who worked at the hotel, the hotel manager, and a housekeeping staff. While the police collected incriminating evidence, the two survivors shared their story with our team.
We learned that Somi and Rakhee were stepsisters from Assam. Rakhee’s mother had died, and Somi’s mother abandoned her family. The girls had the same father, but he did not take care of them, so the two girls lived with their older brother and his wife, Kasturi, in Guwahati, Assam. Somi attended school until grade 8, and Rakhee until grade 12, then they both quit school. Kasturi befriended a man, Aslam, who was popular on social media. Aslam invited the three of them to attend a Hindu festival, Durga Puja, in Kolkata, about 730 miles from Assam.
Kasturi agreed to attend with the two young girls. She made fake Aadhar (identity) cards for Somi and Rakhee which falsely identified the girls as majors (18+ years old). When Somi and Rakhee met Aslam, they quickly learned that he was a trafficker and pimp; he forced them both into prostitution.
Somi and Rakhee bravely shared their story with us, and at 11:15 p.m., the police completed filing their preliminary reports. The police and our team proceeded to the Ecopark Police station with Somi, Rakhee, and the four offenders.
At 2:25 a.m. on October 3, the police completed filing the First Information Report. We accompanied Somi and Rakhee to the hospital for their medical tests. The hospital staff conducted a general medical test, but Somi and Rakhee declined the MedicoLegal test, which looks for evidence of a victim being sexually exploited. The Child Welfare Committee placed Somi and Rakhee in a shelter home, and after a long evening, they finally arrived at the shelter home at 3:02 a.m., where they remain safe.
Our observations thus far:
Aslam is a well known pimp in New Town, West Bengal.
Kasturi seemed to know Aslam well and seemed aware that he was a pimp and trafficker. We suspect that Kasturi received a commission in exchange for both survivors.
During the festival of Durga Puja, the demand for minor girls is especially high in West Bengal, so Kasturi was probably paid an exceptionally high price for each girl.
Somi keeps insisting that October 2024 was the first time she set foot in West Bengal. She does not know that we have evidence that she was in West Bengal in April and was living in Aslam’s house.
Somi keeps trying to protect both Aslam and Kasturi and refuses to admit that Kasturi is complicit in her trafficking.
We continue to investigate this matter and hope the police will arrest Aslam and Kasturi, who returned to Guwahati.
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