RESCUING 5 GIRLS FROM HUMAN TRAFFICKING

For vulnerable people, such as unaccompanied minors, there are certain meeting points where it is convenient for them to group together and try to survive. But they are also risky places, as mafias find it easy to locate and kidnap lost children. This happens in many cities, but in huge cities with a high population density, like Mumbai, where going unnoticed is relatively easy, even more so.

That is why it is essential for Mumbai Smiles to join efforts with the Railway Protection Force (RPF). This is the Indian police specialized in controlling railway stations. With their collaboration we managed to carry out a rescue in the early hours of November 11.

We could prevent Vikas (not his original name for privacy reasons), a 13 year old boy, from falling into the trafficking and exploitation network.

During the previous few months we had been working with the RPF, providing them with training to raise awareness in the detection of cases of trafficking and also designing a joint action protocol to react in the event of detection of a possible case.

That night RPF officers found Vikas at Vile Parle station. They approached him, and saw he was quite dazed. The boy explained that a man had offered him and his two friends something to eat. They accepted and it was the last thing he remembered. He woke up alone and started running away, until he arrived at the station around 5 in the morning. Two hours later, the RPF agents found him and informed the Mumbai Smiles team.

At first, their efforts were focused on calming the boy down and making him feel safe. Then, they located and called his father, who confirmed that he had been missing since the day before. The boy and his family lived in Madhya Pradesh, a 19-hour drive away. So his father would take a while to arrive.

In the meantime, Vikas received medical assistance, in which it was confirmed that he had been drugged and kidnapped. At the same time, he was admitted to a shelter home where he could receive the necessary care while his family was reaching for him, and their participation in these events was ruled out.

Ten days after the events, Vikas was finally able to return to his family. 

Links:

• Public bus stands: a target point of human trafficking