The All-Women police in Tondiarpet on Wednesday arrested eight persons for allegedly forcing a minor into prostitution.
Those held include the girl’s aunt and seven others, including two women.
The police said the 13-year-old girl in north Chennai had dropped out of school three years ago after her father’s death, and accompanied her mother to houses where she worked as a domestic help.
Two months ago, the woman’s niece from Vyasarpadi requested the girl’s help in taking care of her two children. The niece, who was estranged from her husband, was living with another man. Later, when the woman visited her niece’s house in Vyasarpadi, she saw that her daughter was nowhere to be found.
She persuaded her relative to bring her to her daughter. When they finally met, the girl disclosed that she had been forced into prostitution.
On a complaint from the woman, the police arrested the aunt, her friend Madhan and seven others, including two women who acted as brokers. All of them were booked under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, and remanded in judicial custody.
