A 16-year-old girl has been rescued from one of the world's largest red-light districts after police alleged she was lured away from home by her reported boyfriend and sold for commercial sexual exploitation.
Rescue operation in Sonagachhi
Police in Kolkata, India, said the teenager was found in Sonagachhi within an hour of receiving an emergency alert from a child helpline reporting that a minor had allegedly been trafficked from North 24 Parganas. The operation took place on Friday after officers received both a phone call and an email from the child helpline about the alleged trafficking.
Police from Burtolla Police Station immediately launched a search of several properties in the narrow lanes of Sonagachhi before finding the girl in a room on Durga Charan Mitra Street. Officers rescued the teenager and later recorded her statement as part of the investigation.
Arrests and legal action
According to police, the girl's reported boyfriend, a 20-year-old named as Safikul Molla, allegedly lured her away from her home before handing her over to a 39-year-old man named as Saharul Laskar, in Sonagachhi. Police later arrested both men in the area. Officers also claimed that the two accused admitted their role in the case during questioning.
A case has been registered at Burtolla Police Station under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act. The two suspects were later produced before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Kolkata, where police sought custody to allow further investigation into the alleged trafficking.
