14-year-old Sucked Into A Dark Web Of Rape And Sexual Abuse, Trafficker Out On Bail

Madhumita would beam with pride everyday as she watched her 14-year-old daughter Alpana (name changed) go to school. Widowed at a young age, she rolled bidis to eke out a living, dreaming of a better future for her daughters who she had put in a school nearby. It was in January 2019 when she first noticed her child withdrawing into a shell. Her happy-go-lucky daughter suddenly became distant. A heart-to-heart conversation with her revealed a can of worms.

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I didn't realise at first that my daughter is being given drugs. Her classmate drugged her. All this was being done on the orders of the headmistress, said Madhumita, Alpana's mother.

Alpana's friendship with a boy had turned her life into a living hell as she was sucked into a dark web of rape and sexual abuse in seedy hotels nearby. Many of her friends too had got entrapped by their classmate Priya and her cousin. Priya's cousin pretended to be in a relationship with the girls to gain their trust. He later took them to nearby hotels where they were drugged and forced to have sex with strangers.

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What is beyond shocking is that the headmistress of the school Alpana went to, was fully aware of this and the hotels were run by Priya's mother, who wielded clout in local circles.

The battle thereafter was not easy. The child, physically and mentally abused was shattered and distraught. So distraught, that the doctor declared her unfit to record a statement in court under section 164, two whole years since the FIR was filed by her mother.

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Only the boy who trafficked her was arrested but was later granted bail. None of the other girls allegedly victimised could muster the courage to come forward.

No probe has been conducted into the role of either the owner of the hotels or the school headmistress. The only relief has come from Bachpan Bachao Andolan's (BBA) intervention which has led to an interim compensation of Rs. 4 lakh. Standing by the child and providing her with the support she needs, BBA is determined to get her justice.

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It was not just a child sexual abuse case, it was much more. There was child trafficking involved and also intoxication by drugs of minors. When children are subjected to such horrors, I shudder to think of the mental trauma they go through, said Deep Banerjee from Bachpan Bachao Andolan.

Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation's Justice For Every Child campaign aims to provide legal and mental health support to victims across the country whose childhood has been robbed by sexual predators. Extend your helping hand and join the campaign to ensure child victims of rape and sexual abuse receive the much needed support as they fight for justice. Donate Now

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