Hundreds of minors flown out to Gulf to dance in bars, provide sex, as Ramzan month of abstinence ends
Hundreds of minors flown out to Gulf to dance in bars, provide sex, as Ramzan month of abstinence ends
For three days now, 2,000 girls, almost all minors, have left for the Middle East, particularly Dubai, to feed the needs of a population starved of entertainment and sex post the rigours of Ramzan.
The girls have been told they are being taken to dance in bars, but it is implicit that they will double up as prostitutes for well-paying clients. Another 1,000 will leave by tomorrow.
Sources say there has been an approximate 20 per cent rise in the trafficking of minors over the last year.
And it's remarkably easy. Chennai and New Delhi were used as gateways instead of Mumbai where checks are more stringent.
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A senior officer from Special Branch 1 said the girls were travelling on a tourist visa and their stated purpose was 'to visit relatives in the Gulf'.
"We know they are going for immoral purposes. We have been looking to see how we can check their exit," remarked the officer.
'Rise in trafficking'
Vikrant Raghuvanshi, lawyer and president of the NGO Akshaywat, which works with child trafficking, said, "Yes, there has been a substantial rise in the trafficking of minors, but it was never really controlled.
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The government has to take strong initiatives rid the country of this menace."
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Gulf Rush: Bar dancers from Mumbai and other parts of central India were sent to the Middle East via Chennai and New Delhi airports instead of Mumbai where checks are more stringent. |
In an earlier newspaper report, Subhash Chakma, director of the Asian Centre for Human Rights, had said the government was not serious about checking human trafficking in the country.
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"We have enough laws to deal with the problem but lack the will to enforce them."
Ashraf Khan, an agent, said he had been scouting for girls for the past five months. "I make around Rs 40,000 per girl if the deal goes through.
The recruitment process begins about three months before the migration to Gulf begins post Ramzan," said Khan.
In the Gulf, dance bars are shut during Ramzan and the licenses are revoked. All the girls working there are sent home. The exodus to the Gulf therefore begins post Ramzan.
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"An average girl gets paid approximately Rs 1 lakh for a three month contract, while an experienced dancer gets around Rs 3 lakh for the same period," he added. In addition, experienced dancers get 50 per cent of the tips.
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In Mumbai, possibly the best paymaster, the girls make around Rs 10,000 a month, which explains the Gulf rush.
On contract
Khan admitted that 70 per cent of the girls on the three-month contract are below 18 years and the papers are forged to show them as 21 years and above.
"I am going for the first time. My friends told me that the scene is good in Dubai and I will three times what I would earn in Mumbai," remarked Chandni.
Confirming the exodus, Ramesh Shetty (name changed), a bar owner from Kashimira said, "Five girls from my bar left for Dubai yesterday. We now have a shortfall of dancers, but they have promised to return after three months."
Once there, the girls are completely at the mercy of the operators as their passports are taken away so that they cannot escape.
Rakesh Pandey of Rakesh Tours admitted there had been a significant rise of passengers travelling economy class to New Delhi and Chennai in the past few days, of which a large number were female.
The Other Side
Said DCP Brijesh Singh, "We cannot stop them if they are travelling on proper documents. But I am looking into the matter."
Girl Spotting
> Agents spot the girls at beauty parlors or malls.
> The girls are interviewed and if willing, contracts are signed.
> Rs 30,000, what they would make in a month in the Gulf is paid as advance.u00a0
> Most of the girls are 16 and belong to the Bhedia tribe from Rajasthan, famous for their Kalbelia dance.
> The other girls are from Central India and the rest are Mumbai bar girls.
12 lakh
Children are believed to be u00a0involved in prostitution in India twice the population of Nerul
1 crore
People involved in human trafficking in India. The population of Mumbai is 1.5 crore
10 %
Of human trafficking in u00a0India is across borders
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