For Sana (name changed), the mother of three minor girls, six years were of full of rape by nearly 25 men each day and extreme physical abuse if she protested. But she chose not to escape.
Forced into sex trade in 2008, she refused to leave the infamous alleys of G.B. Road here, lest she lost all ties with her second daughter, who was given up for adoption by the brothel owners.
“I could have gone back home any day, but not without my daughter.”
Human trafficking network
The child was just four-day-old when she was given away to a woman who, Sana claimed, is part of the human trafficking network.
Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court restored the custody of Sana’s second daughter, who is now eight, to the adoptive mother, a resident of Andhra Pradesh. The woman had moved the Court for custody after the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) put the child under the care of a non-government organisation.
Brutal realities
The Court had felt that “this act of the CWC had caused a traumatic situation for the child as there would be a barrier of language, food and friendly environment, which has been breached”.
“Sana’s story highlights the brutal realities of human trafficking, which flourishes with the active participation of the police. Woman are forced into sex trade and allowed to conceive. Birth of a girl child and her forcible parting is a way to make women stay in the business. Minor girls are also kept captive, only to be forced into prostitution,” said advocate Ravi Kant, who is fighting the legal battle for Sana.
Adoption deed
under duress
She has now decided to challenge the adoption deed dated October 13, 2008. She claims she was made to put her thumb impressions on the document in a semi-conscious state following a brutal round of beating.
“Any contract signed under duress is illegal. We are going to challenge it. We are also going to highlight how the police was hand-in-glove in this case from the beginning. This woman in Andhra Pradesh is also part of this racket,” added Mr. Kant.
With her 18-month-old daughter in her arms, Sana narrated the sequence of events preceding the High Court orders.
“My husband and I were farmers in rural Andhra Pradesh. In 2008, he died due to a snake bite. I was pregnant with my second daughter at that time and my eldest was four-year-old. A local woman named Sharda brought us to Delhi on the pretext of getting me a job in a saree shop for Rs.5,000 per month,” she said.
“No paperwork”
“About a week after coming to Delhi, I delivered my second child at Girdhari Lal Maternity Hospital on G.B. road. There was no paperwork. I soon realised that I had been forced into sex trade. I was tortured daily, but could not tell anyone as I didn’t speak Hindi. They cut off my hair, tore my clothes and locked me in a room because I refused to serve customers. One day, Sharda and her husband hit me and took my thumb impressions on some papers. Then my child was handed over to the woman from Andhra Pradesh, who used to frequent the brothels.”
Sana was told she would get her daughter back after six years, but only if she catered to the needs of the customers. Failure to do so, they threatened, would lead to the daughter being forced into sex trade. Sana somehow managed to send her eldest daughter back to her family in the village.
Marriage
In the meantime, she married one of her customers and paid Rs.1 lakh in order to free herself from Sharda’s brothel. Sana had a daughter with her new husband and moved to another brothel. When six years were up around Diwali last year, she asked for her daughter, but was showed the adoption deed instead.
Sana went to the police alleging kidnapping, but in vain. With help of an NGO worker, she got a first information report registered. A sub-inspector brought the child here in no time. However, after verifying the adoption deed, the police cancelled the FIR. The CWC gave the child back to the adoptive mother on October 19, 2015.
It was only after an English daily published her story in May this year that the CWC took suo motu cognizance, called for the child and sent her to Suraksha home on May 16. In June, the adoptive mother moved the Delhi High Court and won back the girl’s custody. Sana is now all set to challenge the adoption deed.
Her second daughter was given up for adoption by brothel owners; she was just four-day-old
