Minor rescued from prostitution racket in Delhi, 3 arrested

The city police have rescued a 17-year-old girl from a prostitution racket in Delhi and brought her back to Bengaluru on Friday. Three men have been  arrested on human trafficking charges.

Those  arrested are Shivashankar (40), a resident of Kolar, Chotu Ramdin (40) and Rajesh Kumar (30), both residents of  Delhi. The police are also  on the lookout for a  woman, identified as Kajal, who reportedly escorted the victim to the national capital, and is absconding.

According to the police, the minor girl went missing from Marathahalli six months ago and her mother had lodged a complaint. A team of police officers, who had initially registered a case of kidnap, went in search of the victim  to her native in Andhra Pradesh, but could not trace her.

Police sub-inspector Guruprasad, who led  the investigation, received a tip-off that the girl was lured by Shivashankar, who had promised her a job in an apartment in Delhi for a  salary of Rs 15,000. The girl, who had only studied till Class VII and  did odd jobs for a  living, was tempted by the offer.  

Guruprasad learnt that Shivashankar had sold the girl for Rs 70,000 to his contacts in Delhi, Ramdin and Kumar. Shivashankar and his associate, Kajal, took the girl to Delhi, the police said.

They took the girl to Delhi's red light area, GB Road, near Ajmer Gate.  The Marathahalli police team went to GB Road and  rescued the girl. They came back to the city on Friday with the three  suspects.