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Kids Go to Serve Sex in |
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Hundreds of minors flown out to Gulf to dance in bars, provide
sex, as Ramzan month of abstinence ends
For three days now, 2,000 girls, almost all minors, have left for
the Middle East, particularly Dubai, to feed the needs of a population starved
of entertainment and sex post the rigours of Ramadan.
The girls have been told
they are being taken to dance in bars, but it is implicit that they will double
up as prostitutes for well-paying clients. Another 1,000 will leave by
tomorrow.
Sources say there has been an approximate 20 per cent rise in the trafficking
of minors over the last year.
And it's remarkably easy. Chennai and
Sources added
that all the minors were travelling on forged documents that show them as
adults.
A senior officer from Special Branch 1 said the girls were travelling on a
tourist visa and their stated purpose was 'to visit relatives in the Gulf'.
"We know they are going for immoral purposes. We have been looking to see
how we can check their exit," remarked the officer.
'Rise in trafficking'
Vikrant Raghuvanshi, lawyer and president of the NGO Akshaywat, which works
with child trafficking, said, "Yes, there has been a substantial rise in
the trafficking of minors, but it was never really controlled.
The government has to take strong initiatives rid the country of this menace."
In an earlier
newspaper report, Subhash Chakma, director of the Asian Centre for Human
Rights, had said the government was not serious about checking human trafficking
in the country.
"We have enough laws to deal with the problem but lack the will to enforce
them."
Ashraf Khan, an agent, said he had been scouting for girls for the past five
months. "I make around Rs 40,000 per girl if the deal goes through.
The recruitment process begins about three months before the
migration to Gulf begins post Ramadan," said Khan.
In the Gulf, dance
bars are shut during Ramadan and the licenses are revoked. All the girls
working there are sent home. The exodus to the Gulf therefore begins post Ramadan.
"An average girl gets paid approximately Rs 1 lakh for a three month
contract, while an experienced dancer gets around Rs 3 lakh for the same
period," he added. In addition, experienced dancers get 50 per cent of the
tips.
In Mumbai, possibly the best paymaster, the girls make around Rs 10,000 a
month, which explains the Gulf rush.
On contract
Khan admitted that 70 per cent of the
girls on the three-month contract are below 18 years and the papers are forged
to show them as 21 years and above.
"I am going for the first time. My friends told me that the scene is good
in
Confirming the exodus, Ramesh Shetty (name changed), a bar owner from Kashimira
said, "Five girls from my bar left for
Once there, the girls are completely at the mercy of the operators as their
passports are taken away so that they cannot escape.
Rakesh Pandey of Rakesh Tours admitted there had been a significant rise of
passengers travelling economy class to
The Other Side
Said DCP Brijesh Singh, "We cannot stop them if they are travelling on
proper documents. But I am looking into the matter."
Girl Spotting
> Agents spot the girls at beauty parlors or malls.
> The girls are interviewed and if willing, contracts are signed.
> Rs 30,000, what they would make in a month in the Gulf is
paid as advance.
> Most of the girls are 16 and belong to the Bhedia tribe from Rajasthan,
famous for their Kalbelia dance.
> The other girls are from