Violations of Minorities’ Rights;

3 Hindu girls recovered from sexual exploitation den

Despite that a person had been nominated in the FIR of kidnapping of a Hindu minority girl in 2009 police inaction for two years left the girl trapped inside the house of a sexual predator in Nasir Colony Korangi, who used the girl and two more Hindu girls for commercial sexual exploitation during this period until they got an opportunity on Tuesday to safely escape their turmoil and reached the child rights NGO Roshni Helpline for help for their safety and security.

The teenage victim Ms Nandini was kidnapped from their Ilyas Goth (village) under the bridge of Teen Hutti by their family visitor – a Muslim named Mr Younus. The family had suspected him being behind the missing of their daughter. Their younger daughter even identified his photo and told them that her sister had gone with him.

They reported the police and an FIR (242/2009) had been lodged with the Super Market Police Station, Liaquatabad Town. Mr. Younus was nominated in the FIR. The Family had also approached the Roshni Helpline – a child rights NGO- which offered them its services in search and recovery of the child as well as maximum possible psychosocial support to help them to overcome their sense of loss to some extent. Despite efforts of the family and the Roshni Helpline the girl could not be traced.

Lucky for the poor and helpless girls that the accused on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, left the door unlocked and her wife unwarned. All the three girls capitalized on the opportunity and somehow managed to escape from the house without any notice of the accused’s wife. They managed to reach the Roshni Helpline safely and have pleaded for the help in their safety and security. Other two girls – also from Hindu minority group – are Mala, and Pooja who had been picked up by the accused from PS Nabi Bakhsh, and cattle colony Bin Qasim Town.

Nandini told the Roshni Helpline that the accused had kept them in his house, where he and his wife would have visitors to sexually abuse them forcibly. When the Roshni Helpline staff showed the photo of the accused, Nandini immediately identified him. She said he had taken her family into confidence first as their well-wishers as he used to bring gifts for them etc, and then one day took an opportunity when her parents were not at home and lured her to his house in Korangi.

She said she could not be aware of his motives because he was known as uncle in the family. He confined her and other two girls for two years and exploited them sexually. Both, he and his wife & son Abdul Rehman used to sell us for sexual abuse by their visitors. She said all the girls were threatened and beaten, and were helpless to seek any help from anyone. They were completely cut off from outside world, she said.

“Any inaction now again will put the safety and security of these girls at risk, as the accused might try to trace them and even kill them in the fear that their approach to police could lead to more disclosures and recoveries from him,” President Roshni Helpline Muhammad Ali said.

“It will not only help these girls but to more girls who might be waiting for help and justice to be done. The nature of the case shows that the accused is a habitual and persistent predator and if no action was taken against him he would strike again to ruin lives of more girls.”

He said that the family of Nandini had waited for two years on the hopes that their daughter would come back and justice would be done. In the wait they had lost everything, their economic standing, their health and suffered miserably the agony of the loss of their daughter. The mother of the poor girl is completely crippled now and if no action is taken against the accused she will feel discriminated and suffer further. He said the action should also be taken for the psychosocial rehabilitation of the victim girls and their families.

He appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, Chief Justice of Sindh and IG Police of Sindh to take notice of the issue and order inquiry into the case and arrest of the accused.