4 teenage inmates of Kolkata-based NGO caught in Varanasi

Varanasi, Oct 4 (UNI) The staff of the Varanasi railway station here today caught four teenage girls, who had fled from a Kolkata-based NGO allegedly to escape sexual exploitation.

Ayesha Khan, Pooja Paswan, Pooja Sarkar and Fahima Khatoon were caught when they were traveling without tickets after they detrained from the Howrah-Amritsar Mail at the Varanasi railway station, Government Railway Police (GRP) said.

The four girls alleged they fled from Kolkata-based All Bengal Women's Association to escape sexual exploitation.

Among the four, Ayesha belonged to Mau district of East Uttar Pradesh, had fled from her house an year ago. The remaining three included Pooja Paswan, a native of Gomoh (Jharkhand), Pooja Sarkar from Bandel (West Bengal) and Fahima Khatoon (West Bengal).

All the four girls who had fled from their houses in the past had been living at the NGO working for street-children in Kolkata.

The four girls alleged ''we were living at the NGO as we wanted to study and also learn crafts like rain-coat making. But recently we came to know from one of the seniors at the NGO, Kalpana Mishra, that some of the senior inmates of the institution were being sexually exploited. We had no other option but to flee from there.'' The GRP said the quartet will be first taken to a local NGO Child Line and later produced before the City Magistrate.

UNI