Court convicts 2 men for rape, forcing minor into prostitution

According to the police complaint filed by the girl in Surat, she had come to Kolkata by crossing the international border on a boat with other girls in 2023 to meet her boyfriend — also a Bangladeshi national — after he promised to settle down in India with her. However, in Kolkata, she met a youth who gave her a train ticket to Ahmedabad and asked her to meet her boyfriend’s friend there.

She claimed that in Ahmedabad, the friend forced her into prostitution and also raped her on June 14, 2023. The friend then handed her to another man, who ran spa and massage parlour at Kalol. The man also raped her and forced her into prostitution the same month in Kalol.

In her complaint, the girl said that at the spa, she met the third accused, who assured her all possible help to return to Bangladesh and asked her to come to Surat. When she reached Surat on June 21, 2023, the woman told her to join prostitution to procure the travel fare to Bangladesh. The next day, she managed to give the woman a slip and reached the police station to file a complaint.

Following this, a case was lodged and the three accused arrested. The police submitted a chargesheet to the court on August 9, 2023 and charges were framed against the accused on January 3, 2024. The trial started on January 11.

In the order, the Surat special fast track court of judge Shakuntala Naresh Solanki observed, “…Both accused had committed grave offence, which cannot be tolerated. The third accused, who assured her help, pressurised her for prostitution activities… an example should be set with strict punishment so that in future people get scared to do such act.”

Surat Assistant Public Prosecutor Dipesh Dave expressed satisfaction with the judgment. “The police had sent the victim back to Bangladesh after her statements were recorded by the court around four months ago,” he added.

Defense lawyer M R Pandey, meanwhile, said the order will be challenged in the higher courts.