Pune: Bangladeshis rescued from sex trade languishing in crammed shelter home

Babus in Bangladesh seem to care little for their countrywomen liberated from the sex trade by the city police during their raids on human trafficking densHardpressed The Rescue Foundation shelter home at Mohammadwadi Road PicMohan Patil The girls are languishing at a shelter home in Hadapsar because ldquoofficials from their own country are not sensitive and serious in their efforts to take them backrdquo cops sayCrammed full The shelter home at Mohammadwadi Road in Hadapsar PicMohan Patil The Rescue Foundation shelter home located on Mohammadwadi Road in Hadapsar currently houses 78 girls even though its capacity is for 40 Of these 53 are Bangladeshi nationals A visit to the centre revealed the distressful situation where rooms were crammed fullThe eponymous NGO that runs the home and the Pune police have repeatedly asked for video conferencing between Indian officials and the Bangladesh High Commission to expedite the process of issuing repatriation orders and travel permits for the rescued girls but these efforts have failed due to apathy on their part police sayAdvocate Shiny V Padiyara superintendent of Rescue Foundation which is recognised by the Government of Maharashtra said ldquoGirls especially Bangladesh nationals when rescued by Pune police from human trafficking are kept at our shelter home Due to delay in the processing of repatriation orders some girls are staying at the shelter home for more than two yearsrdquoldquoLast year we had a very good officer in the Bangladesh High Commission who had a sensitive and serious approach He had visited our facility and sped up the process of issuing travel permits and repatriation But since the position was taken over by someone else the process began taking up to one and a half yearsrdquo Shiny saidldquoWe had a meeting with police and Home Ministry officials last week We have stressed on starting video conferencing between Indian and Bangladesh High Commission officials We have the setup ready here However the Bangladeshi officials have not made arrangements from their side If this facility starts it would bring down the bureaucratic delaysrdquo Shiny addedAssistant Police Inspector Social Security Cell Ashwini Jagtap said ldquoEarlier many girls from the southern states were found to be lured into prostitution in Pune This trend changed and Nepali girls were seen in large numbers Nowadays we see Bengali and Bangladeshi girls in huge numbers in the city Earlier these girls were found restricted to redlight areas but now they are found in various parts of the city Officials from their own country are not serious in their efforts to take them backrdquoAnother senior official from the Crime Branch on condition of anonymity confirmed that the remand or shelter homes are running beyond capacity ldquoAfter we rescue the girls they are required to be produced in court After the court procedure is over we have to make arrangements to keep them at a safe place If shelter homes are running full where do we keep them If we insist on including these girls in the existing shelter homes then there is a possibility of creating unsafe conditions for the rescued girlsrdquo said the officer40 Accommodation capacity of shelter home78 Number of women it currently houses