14-year-old girl, 4 women rescued from prostitution racket in Outer Delhi, 3 held

New Delhi: A 14-year-old girl and four women, including one who was reportedly five months pregnant, were rescued from a prostitution racket during a police raid in Outer North Delhi's Swaroop Nagar, officials said on Thursday.

The rescued victims include women aged between 25 and 55 years old, besides the minor girl. A 25-year-old woman was five months pregnant, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer North) Hareshwar Swami said.

The operation was carried out following a tip-off from the Association for Voluntary Action (AVA), whose members had been posing as decoy customers for weeks to gather details, Swami said.

Three persons, including a woman, were arrested for allegedly running the racket from a flat and a case was registered under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, according to the officer.

During counselling, the minor told officials that she was lured into the trade by an acquaintance earlier this month. She had approached a woman seeking employment in a factory due to financial difficulties at home.

The woman allegedly took her to another person who was running a similar racket, the DCP said.

"When I refused, they convinced me that there is a lot of money in it. I would attend one or two clients daily and get Rs 1,000," she told counsellors.

The girl said she was later shifted to Swaroop Nagar, where she was paid Rs 300 per day while the rest of the money was kept by others involved, according to the official.

She has been moved to a childcare home and will be produced before the Child Welfare Committee, he said.

Another victim, who said she was 25 years old, appeared much younger to the rescue team, the official said. Since she did not provide any documents to establish her age, further medical examination will be conducted, he added.

According to Swami, 35 packets of condoms and a diary with a QR code showing a Rs 1,000 payment made by a decoy customer were recovered during the raid.

"Upon medical examination, the urine pregnancy test of one victim was found positive. After counselling, the minor victim has been placed at KGMT Bakhtawarpur, and her detailed statement is being recorded. Appropriate sections will be added during the course of investigation," DCP Swami said.

He added that sections 11 and 17 of the POCSO Act, Section 96 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 7 of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act have been invoked in the case.

The alleged brothel operators Bharti and Arjun, along with a customer, have been arrested. They are being interrogated, the DCP said, adding that further investigation is underway.

Manish Sharma, Director of AVA, said, "Our team on the ground informed us about this racket a few weeks ago. Another team posed as a customer and built trust with the middleman. When the pimp demanded Rs 10,000 for supplying four minor girls, we informed the police."

"Prompt action ensures that minor children are not trafficked and lured into these traps. However, this is not an isolated case in Swaroop Nagar. Similar rackets have been busted earlier too. Unless strict action is taken, such gangs will not be deterred," he added.

AVA, a partner of Just Rights for Children, is part of a network of more than 250 NGOs working for child protection across 434 districts in the country.

Last month, the organisation had tipped off the police about a similar racket in Dwarka, which led to the rescue of a 16-year-old girl.