AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
ARAMBOL: “Hi,” says a lady dressed in baby pink soaking the attention of the males walking on Arambol beach. She gets into some conversation and runs away like a lost kid in
seconds.
“Leave her alone,” suggests Mohan, selling artefacts on the beach to the men. “She is going through a bad time. “As you go ahead, you will come across many more. Girls are not only from Africa but Russia too,” he adds.
As the sun sets on Arambol beach, catcalls from women of African origin can be heard. “Five thousand Sir for best time. The experience is special,” says a woman in black. A little ahead, an older woman starts the bidding at Rs 3,000.
Despite the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arresting Kenyan national Newton Kimani in December 2023 for being involved in an international sex racket from Siolim and transferring about Rs 21 crore outside the country through hawala transactions, Mandrem Police Station has booked cases against fourteen women since its inception eight months ago.
“Prostitution is a serious problem and we are doing our best to stifle its growth. Since this police station started, we booked one case under the Immoral Trafficking Act and three women were rescued. In addition, seven Nigerian, one Russian and one North Korean have been booked for overstaying and being without documents,” said Sheriff Jacques, Police Inspector of Mandrem Police Station.
“The ladies booked for overstaying or staying without documents do not seem to be part of a larger racket though they might have been before. It is sad to see the state of some of the women picked up by us. They seem abandoned. Many appear to be in the business of the need to survive. We expect to deport all of them to their respective countries legally, explains the Mandrem PI.
“Why Arambol,” questions Arun Panday co-founder of Anyay Rahit Zindagi (ARZ) and organisation attempting to give women drawn into prostitution a new lease of life. “Go to the Mapusa bus stand and you will see around sixty women everyday soliciting customers. Or, even go to Bicholim or other industrial places in Goa,” suggests Panday who believes “the government has conveniently shut its eyes to the problem”.
“It was evident when the ED caught the Nigerian boy, that, the problem was severe in Goa. Yet, there were no legal remedies. Sex seems to be the best bait to draw in tourists and it will be the bait that will leave nasty repercussions,” observes Panday.
“I would blame the Tourism Department for not stepping in when Goa was being promoted as a hedonistic place. We are known as the land of sand, sea and sex. We have Russian girls doing pole dancing and there are over thirty seven thousand cases of downloading pornography registered. Instead of selling Goa for its forests and hinterland, the government has opted this sleazy route,” fumes Advocate Caroline Colaco.
“The government needs to get the police, the organisations handling trafficked women, the magistrates on the same page to find a solution to the problem or else, we have pimps coming to free the girls and later pushing them back into the business,” thinks Colaco.
“There was a girl rehabilitated from prostitution and later we got her married. After a few months, we were informed that she had left her husband and returned to the business. We tracked and found her and she herself went back to her husband again,” confessed sister Margily Kompan, former head of Navajyothi Rehabilitation Centre run by Sister Adorers in Nuvem.
“Many things that God does for us are unexplainable and his goodness can never be measured and it helps understand how girls get out of the grip of vice to live fulfilling lives afterwards,” explains Kompan.
Flashback: ED had arrested
Kenyan student last year
The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) had arrested Newton Muthuri Kimani, a Kenyan national, staying in India on a student visa, on December 9 last year, for his involvement in immoral human trafficking.
Kimani was produced before the Court, Panjim which granted him ED custody for six days till December 15.
The ED in a press release issued last year, had stated that it had initiated investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Anjuna Police, against two Nigerians - Isralite alias Dorcast Maria and Olokpa for their involvement in Immoral Human Trafficking. The accused persons used to bring young African girls to Goa on the pretext of providing jobs in the hospitality industry and force them into prostitution activities.
The ED investigation revealed that Kimani was managing multiple accounts in which certain amounts were being credited on behalf of various persons involved in running the racket. This money generated through illegal means, was being transferred to Kenya and other countries through the Mpesa app and some foreign bank accounts with help of some suspected Hawala operators.
A search operation was conducted in Anjuna, during which a Kenyan who was forced into immoral trafficking by Isralite @ Dorcast Maria was rescued along with another Kenyan girl. On the basis of information gathered, three search operations were carried out in Gujarat and Punjab resulting in seizure of incriminating documents and digital devices.