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Six Bangladeshi girls rescued by T.N. police reunited with families

Published - June 17, 2019 12:23 am IST - CHENNAI

Coordinated efforts by NGOs with diplomatic support helped them return home

The rescued girls being handed over to Border Security Force personnel on the Indian side of the Fulbari border near Siliguri in West Bengal on Sunday.

Half-a-dozen girls from Bangladesh, rescued by the police in Chennai and Madurai, including four who were rescued four years ago, were reunited with their families at the Fulbari border near Siliguri on Sunday.

The victims were rescued during raids on suspected brothels and were handed over to a State-run home for women through the local courts. Four of the six girls were minors when they were smuggled to Kolkata before being moved to other parts of the country, where they were allegedly forced into the flesh trade, police sources said.

According to R. Isabel of the Madras Christian Council of Social Service, the victims had gotten used to living in Chennai and Madurai since they had lost all hope of returning to their country. The NGO helped three of them get employment in stores or restaurants. “But the girls always wanted to return home, though they hardly remembered any contact details like addresses, telephone numbers, etc. However, with whatever details they shared with us, we got in touch with Light House, an NGO in Dhaka, who managed to locate their families. We then took custody of the girls and organised travel permits through the District Legal Services Authority, the Bangladesh High Commission and the Foreign Regional Registration Office, Chennai,” she said.

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Appreciating the role played by the immigration authorities and the State police, Ms. Isabel said two other NGOs — Impulse Network in Meghalaya and Brac in Dhaka — also played a key role in reuniting the victims with their respective families on Sunday.

“There is a well-organised crime network that smuggles these minor girls into West Bengal and then hands them over to agents in Bengaluru, Chennai and other places. Had the police not rescued the victims, they would have never been able to escape from the clutches of these agents,” she said.

In a communication to the Superintendent, Government Children’s Home for Girls, Kellys, Chennai, Selim Md. Jahangir, Minister (Consular), High Commission for the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, New Delhi, complimented the Ministry of External Affairs and other Indian authorities for their efforts.

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