Kishalay Bhattacharjee
Trafficking of minor girls is a huge problem in the North East. An NDTV team met several minors in Manipur's Churachandpur town who were sold to brothels and subjected to continuous sexual abuse. The New Bazar area in the town is where the illegal sex trade of minor girls thrives. Scores of girls are brought here from various places and forced into prostitution.
Kim (name changed) found her way here when she was 13-years-old. She narrates her horrifying tale. ''One day we were late and were chased by some men and my cousin screamed. There were some commandos stationed nearby and we thought we were rescued.
''We were taken to a hotel and given food. But the next morning when I woke up I had no clothes on me and I realized I was raped. I cried a lot but I was locked up and forced to become part of the brothel. Slowly I got used to it,'' recounts Kim.
The NDTV team found that most of the customers in New Bazar are securitymen themselves. On their part, the police say they are unaware of the flesh trade.
''In Churachandpur town area there are some commercial sex workers but we can't find them,'' says Manglemjao, SP, Churachandpur.
Ironically, they are there at every street corner. At a brothel located in the middle of the main market, the NDTV team met 17-year-old Laam, who was waiting for customers.
''Generally I get Rs 600 per day and I send the money home. My customers are mostly Meiteis from the valley. Some are poor, some rich and some big officers. There are also many married men. I don't want to be like this but I want to earn on my own. If my family finds out what I'm doing they will kill me,'' said Laam.
The team also found at least 15 minor girls in brothels in the market alone. Activists say the incident of AIDS among them is alarming.
''I have been working with sex-workers in this area for five years now. Today if I see them, they may not be there tomorrow. Now I am dealing with 15 cases, earlier I had 35 cases. Most of them are from poor families and broken families. No education, because of lack of money,'' said Sister Mary Rose from an NGO called Diossesan.
Trafficking of minor girls from the North East has been going on for a long time but noone knows who runs the racket.
People in the city allege that since securitymen are the main clients, the pimps have their protection.
The trade thus continues to flourish and the young souls are seen as mere playthings.
Every day young girls are sold to a city brothel and then trafficked to metropolitan cities. Many of the girls start their journey from here and its not surprising that there has been little or no intervention to rescue them.
Caught in the deadly web of drugs, HIV, militancy and trafficking, places like Churachandpur have virtually lapsed into anarchy.
[NDTV]
Trafficking of minor girls is a huge problem in the North East. An NDTV team met several minors in Manipur's Churachandpur town who were sold to brothels and subjected to continuous sexual abuse. The New Bazar area in the town is where the illegal sex trade of minor girls thrives. Scores of girls are brought here from various places and forced into prostitution.
Kim (name changed) found her way here when she was 13-years-old. She narrates her horrifying tale. ''One day we were late and were chased by some men and my cousin screamed. There were some commandos stationed nearby and we thought we were rescued.
''We were taken to a hotel and given food. But the next morning when I woke up I had no clothes on me and I realized I was raped. I cried a lot but I was locked up and forced to become part of the brothel. Slowly I got used to it,'' recounts Kim.
The NDTV team found that most of the customers in New Bazar are securitymen themselves. On their part, the police say they are unaware of the flesh trade.
''In Churachandpur town area there are some commercial sex workers but we can't find them,'' says Manglemjao, SP, Churachandpur.
Ironically, they are there at every street corner. At a brothel located in the middle of the main market, the NDTV team met 17-year-old Laam, who was waiting for customers.
''Generally I get Rs 600 per day and I send the money home. My customers are mostly Meiteis from the valley. Some are poor, some rich and some big officers. There are also many married men. I don't want to be like this but I want to earn on my own. If my family finds out what I'm doing they will kill me,'' said Laam.
The team also found at least 15 minor girls in brothels in the market alone. Activists say the incident of AIDS among them is alarming.
''I have been working with sex-workers in this area for five years now. Today if I see them, they may not be there tomorrow. Now I am dealing with 15 cases, earlier I had 35 cases. Most of them are from poor families and broken families. No education, because of lack of money,'' said Sister Mary Rose from an NGO called Diossesan.
Trafficking of minor girls from the North East has been going on for a long time but noone knows who runs the racket.
People in the city allege that since securitymen are the main clients, the pimps have their protection.
The trade thus continues to flourish and the young souls are seen as mere playthings.
Every day young girls are sold to a city brothel and then trafficked to metropolitan cities. Many of the girls start their journey from here and its not surprising that there has been little or no intervention to rescue them.
Caught in the deadly web of drugs, HIV, militancy and trafficking, places like Churachandpur have virtually lapsed into anarchy.
[NDTV]
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