Four Andhra girls rescued from brothels in Delhi

Published: 01/03/2007 12:00 AM (UAE)
IANS
New Delhi: Police have rescued four girls from Andhra Pradesh and two minors from brothels in the capital.
The girls were rescued from the brothels in the city's red light area on Monday night after a special Andhra Pradesh police team conducted a raid with the help of the local police of the Kamla Market police station.
"In response to five cases of trafficking registered in Andhra Pradesh, a police team from the state arrived in the city and conducted the raid with our help and rescued the four girls," said Rakesh Giri, Station House Officer of the Kamla Market police station, without disclosing the names of the girls.
While the victims were counselled and interrogated, the Andhra Pradesh police also managed to arrest four of the traffickers.
Giri said that apart from rescuing the four girls from the southern state, they also rescued two minor girls from the brothel.
"We rescued two minors during the raid as well. They have been sent to Nari Niketan, a government-run counselling home," Giri said.
According to the United Nations (UN), Andhra Pradesh records the highest number of human trafficking cases in India.
In an effort to prevent the trade and exploitation of human beings in the country, an Anti-Human Trafficking Unit was established in Andhra Pradesh last month in partnership with the US Government and the United Nations.
The US Government provided $2.5 million (Dh9.1 million) for this project, the largest single anti-trafficking project ever funded in the world.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime implements the project, and the Indian Government chairs the meetings to help guide the planning and implementation.
Apart from Andhra Pradesh, the project also targets four other states - Bihar, Goa, Maharashtra and West Bengal. The Andhra Pradesh police team that rescued the girls here is a part of the same project.