TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: As the investigation into the Moonlight Circus trafficking and sexual abuse case nears its end, Crime Branch sleuths have collected crucial information on previous escapes of juveniles from the circus to strengthen the criminal case against the owner Abdul Khan.
Goa police had rescued 18 boys and girls and arrested five persons in a raid that unearthed an interstate child trafficking racket and sexual abuse on March 1. The lid on the scandal was exposed when three underage girls including a rape victim escaped from the circus venue at Margao and landed in Thane (Mumbai) on their way to Howrah (West Bengal).
Superintendent of Police Kartik Kashyap said a few ill-treated children had earlier escaped from the circus when it played out at other venues. “Some children had fled from the camps previously. This is not the first escape incident…” he recounted.
The investigation has also revealed that the children, who were trained to perform different stunts, were hidden in containers to avoid legal action. “They were professionals. They knew how to manipulate the situation. If they suspected a raid, they would hide
the children in boxes,” the officer said.
The circus team members – in police uniforms – would also conduct mock raids at regular intervals to essentially train the juvenile performers on how to camouflage the entire functioning at the circus. If they failed, the accused would subject them to brutalities.
The Crime Branch expects to charge sheet the case in the next couple of weeks even as the investigation is almost complete with
12 witnesses having testified so far.
The investigation also revealed that the children were trafficked at a young age of one-to-two years to train them to perform various dangerous stunts. They were also fooled into thinking they were talking to their family members on the phone and never allowed to meet any outsider. The Assam-based Moonlight Circus had shows in various parts of the country and after their performance in Margao they were supposed to move to their next stop at Kudal in Maharashtra.
