Team Herald
VASCO: Vasco-based NGO Savera on Monday demanded the medical examination of the minor girls rescued from a flat at Baina, fearing they may have been sexually exploited.
It may be recalled, following the complaint from NGO Childline, Vasco police on Saturday raided a flat at Baina and rescued eight minor girls, aged between 11 and 12 and arrested a 65-year-old woman Venus Habib, a resident of Baina, on the charges of kidnapping, torturing and assaulting them.
Addressing a press conference in Vasco, Savera president Tara Kerkar said about five years ago a 14-years-old girl had committed suicide in the same flat and at that time both, a person named Das and she had demanded that police investigate from where Habib had brought the minor victim from. However, the complaints were not entertained and were ignored by the police.
Now since the police have rescued eight minor girls, having some burn injuries on their hands, it is very important for the police to let the minor girls undergo a medical examination to find out if they were victims of sexual exploitation, she said.
“The medical examination of minor girls is also very important as there are several eyewitness from the area who have seen foreign nationals, as well as VIP’s frequently visiting the flat, where Habib had kept the minor girls. Police should investigate the antecedents of the foreign national and should interrogate the housemaid working at the flat. We have come to know that a motorcycle rider and a person named Taj was also visiting the flat on a regular basis and police should investigate all such people to uncover the activities taking place in the flat,” Kerkar alleged, adding their inquiry with people residing in the neighbourhood also revealed that the minor girls were not only facing torture, but punishment wherein Habib would cut the hair of minor girls adopted by her.
She said the case should be investigated properly and it would be pertinent if crime branch carried out the investigation as Vasco police have accorded a VIP treatment to the accused and treated her unlike other accused.
“We demand investigation by crime branch as we don’t trust Vasco police and don’t know if they would do justice or hush up the case. We also demand that the investigation agency should find out why she (Habib) was allowed to adopt girls when she already had kids. If she says that she was helping them as an NGO then investigation agency should find out whether her NGO is registered and from where she brought the minor girls, who are their parents, how and why she adopted them and what was her intention. Is there any racket behind this or human trafficking angle to it, the investigation should be held in all such angles,” Kerkar demanded.
Kerkar also claimed that the Vasco police had so far failed to take possession of the mobile phone and computer that was used by the accused woman.
