PANAJI
In a State where curbing prostitution activities has been a major challenge, a disturbing trend has emerged wherein vulnerable girls from Central Asia, having undergone training in Delhi and NCR to covertly carry out prostitution activities, are being trafficked to Goa, Mumbai, and Bangalore.
The involvement of lawyers – mostly from Delhi in providing marriage certificates, Aadhaar proof, etc; advising the rescued girls not to cooperate with the police among other issues were discussed elaborately at the Interpol’s conference in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) on November 27-28.
Allegedly trafficked under the guise of employment, these girls resist police cooperation unless police, NGOs and local authorities jointly break the ice.
ARZ Director Arun Pandey, who shared Goa’s case study with former Director General of Police (IPS) P M Nair -- appointed to represent India at the global conference -- said the discussion at Tashkent addressed urgency in addressing these issues and various challenges faced by the authorities and the NGO.
Details shared during the conference revealed that pimps provide the vulnerable girls with fake Nikah-nama (marriage certificates) and Aadhaar Cards while holding their passports back. The rescued victims have even confessed that their pimps ensured their visas expire and subsequently threaten them with police action, to ensure they don’t expose the trafficking network. “They would silence the girls completely,” he said.
A case study where an Uzbek victim refused to cooperate with the Goan authorities for around two months after her rescue but eventually exposed the network, was discussed at the conference. She was one of the victims, who were sent by her pimp to Goa after months of training outside.
“Traffickers make victims highly vulnerable. Despite being exploited in prostitution for so many years, she had no money left to buy her tickets. There is a need to keep a real-time watch on the agents and pimps in Uzbekistan and India, and their communications need to be monitored (including social media links). If the victim’s Passport and Visa are taken away by the traffickers, the Embassy should consider providing them free of cost to the victim; and the Embassy should also consider air tickets for their return journey,” Nair said as he presented step-by-step case details.
In his Facebook post, Nair stated the conference also attended by senior functionaries of law enforcement of five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, saw detailed and in-depth deliberations on preventing and countering trafficking of women from these countries to India directly or through other countries like Nepal.
Reportedly, the ripple effects of ongoing Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts have also created conditions that contribute to the trafficking of women for prostitution in India.
