The Bombay High Court recently raps Sangli Police in dealing with a case of Bangladeshi minors trafficked across the border and pushed into the flesh trade in Maharashtra.
A division bench of Justice AS Gadkari and Justice PD Naik was hearing the matter.
The bench asked the police whether they had any information on those involved in fabricating false credentials to prove that the trafficking girls were Indians.
During the hearing, the court expressed its disapproval with the probe. Chief Public Prosecutor Aruna Pai informed the bench that the birth certificate of one of the girls was verified and found to be fake.
The bench stated, “Madam, this is a serious matter. The victim claims she was smuggled here from Bangladesh, but documents show she was born here. The document appears to have been fabricated. What actions have you taken against all of them? If the document is not genuine, the relevant sections have to be added.”
Aruna Pai, on the other hand, informed the court that the police officers were treating the investigation with the utmost seriousness.
The bench responded, “Monitoring is pointless. We have no idea how many more people have been brought here and made to participate in this.” When Judge Gadkari requested the case diary, Pai stated that the DySP had not presented it.
The bench, disturbed by this, stated, “Is the investigating officer aware of the gravity of the situation? This has been our refrain for the past month. Your cops are involved. You want to keep them safe. The case diary will now be manipulated.”
Aruna Pai then offered to personally engage with Sangli’s senior officers to resolve the issues.
Case Background
In December 2021, an NGO freedom firm filed a complaint with the Vishrambag police station, claiming that a brothel was operating in their neighbourhood, forcing minors into the flesh trade. The police first failed to act with the case, but in February 2022, after much follow-up, they searched the brothel and discovered two minors and a major. They were taken to a shelter.
The shelter home later filed a complaint with the local sessions court, alleging that the brothel keeper, who had been granted bail owing to her own pregnancy, was attempting to influence the girls. Meanwhile, a statement from two underage girls was recorded in April 2022, stating that they were subjected to exploitation at the hands of a police officer from the Vishrambag police station, after which a police constable was also arrested. The cop was accused of sexually assaulting the 17-year-old victim from Bangladesh, who was residing with a woman in Sangli, on several occasions.
However, the major’s remark was later recorded, in which he said that it was the NGO workers who were exploiting the girls. A new FIR was filed against the NGO as a result of this. The NGO then filed a petition in the Bombay High Court for quashing of the FIR against them, claiming that it was just a counterblast to the first FIR in which the policeman was mentioned.
According to court orders, an investigation was conducted, and Sangli police registered a new FIR in the same matter on January 31, 2023, in which the police constable and the brothel keeper were arrested, and further investigation is ongoing. The girls have been relocated to a shelter in Pune.
