Meghalaya Police to arrest a step-mom in Bangalore

Shillong, Oct 6: A team of Meghalaya police would soon leave for Bangalore to arrest a step-mother for selling her foster daughter to a brothel in Mumbai, police said on Monday, Oct 6. 16-year-old Naomi (name changed), who escaped from a brothel in Mumbai last week, had alleged that her step-mother Basil Nongrum sold her to a brothel at Dongli, Mumbai, after her father died.

The teenager, who returned here on Friday last, told police that she managed to run off the brothel through one of its ventilators.

Quoting the girl's statement, police said a Nepali lady rescued the girl by taking her to a police station at Nagpara area before she was handed over to the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), Mumbai.

''We are still investigating the matter. After collecting all necessary evidences, we would leave for Bangalore to arrest the step-mother of the girl," a police official said.

Meanwhile, the state police said trafficking in women has reportedly increased in the north eastern states as the tribal Khasi women were aiding and abetting in human trafficking.

"Most of the local girls were whisked away to metro cities by the tribal Khasi women, who are already involved in flesh trade in different metros of the country. Mostly young village girls of the state are easily trapped into the flesh trade with false promises of better career and job prospects," the police official said.

UNI