16 girls sent from GB Road to shelter home after raid

Sixteen girls allegedly employed as sex workers at GB Road were “rescued” by a joint team of the Crime Branch and local police during raids in the area on Friday morning. Police claimed the girls were minors based on a physical examination. The girls, on the other hand, told police that they are adults, with some producing Aadhaar cards as proof.

Police, however, sent them to a shelter home and will produce them before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on Monday. Police said they will also conduct a bone test to ascertain their exact age. No arrests have been made as the girls have not made any specific allegations against the brothel owners. According to a police officer from Kamla Market police station, the raids were conducted around 5 am, after police found out that minors were being employed at two brothels.

“We received inputs over the past few days that some minors were employed at the two brothels. So we conducted a surprise check and found that the girls were confined in several cavities of the building,” the officer alleged.

Police said the girls are from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Nepal and had been working at the two brothels for a period of six months to three years. “None of them claimed they were abused. We have made them undergo a medical examination and the results are awaited,” the officer said.