Dark Secrets: Child Trafficking, The Tragic End Of Childhood

 

Dark Secrets: Child Trafficking, The Tragic End Of Childhood

    13 year old Reshma was an orphan girl who lived in the hut of her window aunt Vimala, in a slum in the city. Vimala had two small children, she left them in Reshma’s care and worked as a domestic worker in neighbouring houses. Reshma used to help Vimala in cooking at home and doing small tasks. From now on, I will do some work and earn and help the family, when Reshma say’s Vimala adds, you look like nymph, when you are old enough if you are sent out the prince will come and take you away. And Vimala says soon she’s going to find a good man to marry you and take your responsibility.  Vimala used to say that she will lose her responsibility once Reshma gets married.

     One afternoon Reshma walking on the roadside shop to bring biscuits to her little brother as he was crying a lot. Then a car coming from her front stopped next to her. The lady who got down from the car stopped Reshma and started asking someone’s address. When Reshma was about to answer, two assailants who got out of the same car covered her mouth and anonymously lifted her into the car. They handcuffed her in the car and stuffed her mouth with cloth. The car went somewhere. After long time when Reshma did not returned, her cousin brothers started crying loudly. Then neighbours of her hut came, surprised to find Reshma not at home, then they informed Vimala. With the help of the slum leader, Vimala went to police station to file missing compliant but police told her, she may have run away with someone, have you called her? When asked by the police, Vimala said that Reshma did not have a phone. If she does not come in two days, the police told Vimala to come back to the station.

  Here Reshma’s abductors took her to farm house 35 KM from the city. That house belongs to Raouf. He was about 40 years old and lived at home with his wife Salma and brother. That night Raouf repeatedly raped Reshma. The next day Salma cleaned Reshma and said we have kidnapped you for your benefit. You will get married soon, Raouf showed what your husband will do.  If you do as we said, you will earn lakhs of money and become rich like us said Salma. Reshma did not know what was going on, she did not even know where she was, she started crying remembering her aunt Vimala. Then Salma consoled her and said “this is your home now on, you will be treated has queen but you have to be as we say, by giving her good clothes and jewels. The girl wore them was pleased. The couple Raouf and Salma took good care of her by giving her delicious food every day. Raouf started teaching her how to behave with her husband as a wife. After 10 days, Reshma forget her aunt.

  Meanwhile Vimala worried because Reshma did not come back home, again Vimala went police station to lodge missing complaint. Even after that police didn’t register a missing complaint, but only gave her flying reply. So Vimala reasoned that Reshma had gone with some young man and would not come home. After two months, Salma told Reshma that she found a good husband for her and will marry her soon. The couple took Reshma to another town, went to someone’s bungalow, where a rich family lived, and showed Reshma to a groom who was about forty years old. Raouf told them that Reshma was a minor girl and marrying her would be a crime under the law, but they had come to marry her. Groom agreed to marry her. Raouf received 3 lakh as bribe fee from his family and the engagement was done on the spot and the marriage was fixed two days later. When everyone returned to a hotel where they had stayed, Reshma told Salma that she did not like her betrothed. Then Salma said, Don’t Worry daughter on the wedding night mix the medicine with milk which I give to you, husband will drink milk, and he will fall asleep. Then steal his money and valuables and get out of there. We will be waiting for you then let’s leave here salma said.

On the first night of her wedding, Reshma did as Salma instructed her, stole the ornaments given by her husband’s family, her husband’s chain, ring etc. and came out after midnight. Salma and Raouf brought her to their farmhouse in the car. The groom’s family did not complain about Reshm’s act, because they were being afraid of being arrested themselves. Moreover, Raouf changed his name to Mohanlal, he said that he had given a false address. A month later Raouf and his wife took Reshma to another state. There too Reshma was married to another person, she did as before and earned lot of money. This time Reshma stayed in her husband’s house for three to four days and stole a huge amount of money. Similarly, Raouf arranged Reshma’s marriage with six other grooms in different states of the country over the next two years.[1]

Meanwhile Raouf decides to retire Reshma due to high demand for young brides, he calls Reshma and say’s ‘No more of your fake marriage’. But, you must train the girls I bring here on how to behave like a bride. As you will turn 18 in a few months, I will marry you to a suitable groom and send you away from here, if you don’t like this I will pay your share, you can go anywhere you want. The choice is yours, I will stay here for now says Reshma. A few days later, Raouf kidnapped two minor girls and kept them in his farm house and started looking for grooms for them. Both of them were trained by Reshma along with Salma. One of them was a girl Neetu who belonged to a good family. Neetu’s father had filed a complaint about her abduction and put a lot of pressure to find her. One day Neetu steals Salma’s cell phone and calls her father. After searching for the location of the cell phone, the police raided Raouf farmhouse a few hours later and rescued Reshma and other girls. Raouf and Salma got arrested, later police registered another case regarding kidnapping of Reshma and submitted the charge sheet in all the three cases. The court sentenced all the accused to seven years rigorous imprisonment for child trafficking.

Child trafficking is a crime which often trafficked for domestic slavery, forced labor, forced begging, sexual exploitation, forced marriage, selling children, removal of organs and criminal activity. Of these, 80% of victims are women that too 50% of victims are under the age of 16 years. Child trafficking is not India’s problem but its world’s problem.  In this case there was Neetu’s father who pressured police and found his daughter as well they saved other two girls, but in our society we don’t know how many daughters like Reshma have been stuck in the trafficking. We can’t blame Government, Police, Law and Parents. Its everyone’s responsibility to protect children in society, everything is interdependent.  We are living in a 21^st century a technological era where many factors make children and adults vulnerable to human trafficking through internet based on money, employment, friendship and love. Internet has become a main tool for trafficking as the victim’s personal information and daily activities and everything getting in a social media. As a society we all have responsibility to protect innocent child from a child trafficking by making aware of laws and programs launched by government in the society.

 

Save Children

 

 

Reference

1] Dr.D.V Guruprasad, 2023 July 16, “Makkala Kallasaaganeya Jaala”, A Kshana, Vijayavani, Bengaluru, Page No-II

2] Image from Pinterest