More minor girls rescued from brothels this year

There has been a surge in the number of minor girls rescued by Delhi police from various brothels and prostitution rings in the city this year.

There has been a surge in the number of minor girls rescued by Delhi police from various brothels and prostitution rings in the city this year.

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According to Delhi police statistics, a total of 135 girls, a majority of who were minors, have been rescued from brothels in central Delhi's GB Road during 10 raids conducted on different dates by the central district police this year.

In 2011, police had rescued only 12 girls, of which 11 were trafficked from West Bengal.

Since a majority of the rescued girls were minors and were trafficked from several parts of the country before being pushed into flesh trade, the Delhi police are taking several steps to curb this trend.

In their latest move, the police have planned to paste posters of missing minor girls outside brothels on big secured notice boards that will be installed in the GB Road area.

"The idea is to put up posters of missing girls, so that if a client spots the girls in any of the brothels, he can immediately inform police officers whose contact numbers will be printed on the posters," a senior police officer.

Police have also served notices to some brothels in GB Road area and their owners for forcing trafficked minor girls into prostitution.

A couple of days ago, notices were served to Kotha numbers 42, 56, 59 and 5211, where recently conducted raids have led to the 'rescue' of dozens of minors allegedly trafficked from various locations in southern India, Maharashtra and Nepal and forced into the flesh trade.

They have been asked to prepare a statement to defend their 'establishments' in court, said a senior police officer.

In February, 72 girls from Andhra Pradesh, including 16 minors, were rescued from brothels in GB Road. The operation, one of the largest of its kind in the last six months, was conducted by a joint team of Delhi police and Andhra Pradesh state police.

The rescued minors were produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) before being taken to a juvenile home.