How Kidnapped Children Are Pushed Into Prostitution In AP, Telangana

Hyderabad: On Tuesday, 11 minor girls were rescued by the police from a prostitution racket in Telangana temple town Yadagirigutta. In the wake of this shocking incident and increasing sexual assaults on women, fear and insecurity are giving rise to questions.

In the last 24 hours, 23 children have been kidnapped in Telangana. Out of the 23, the police have till now rescued nine children. In the Telugu states, the number of children who have gone missing in the last one year is 2,283, out of which only 1,371 children have been rescued from kidnap gangs. Between 2010-16, more than 6,000 women went missing in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Several gangs are functioning with a huge network across the Telugu states, with an aim to abduct people from vulnerable sections of the society, minors and members from financially backward communities. The gangs would pay Rs 25,000 for giving a tip on women from these communities. According to police sources, more than 100 gangs are working with the help of around 5,000 agents in cities like Hyderabad and Vijayawada.

The gangs try to woo women by promising to provide them employment and education. Women would soon be trapped into the racket, in the name of working abroad before forcing them into prostitution. "Around two years ago, an agent convinced 10 families to send women for work abroad, and promised to send Rs 25,000 per month to the families. Everything was fine for the first four months. After that, we have no information about them," a police officer narrated an incident that happened in Karimnagar district.

In a latest trend of child traficking, the gangs are targetting girls aged between 6-10 and send them to prostitution houses in Delhi, Pune and Mumbai. With a view to curtail the increasing number of child traficking cases in the state, the Telangana police begun 'Operation Muskan'.

In the last three years, 25,834 victims have been rescued in the Operation. Of them, 12,483 children have been sent back to their parents, while 13,351 are being accommadated in state homes.

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