6 acquitted in minor trafficking case in Mumbai

Mumbai, Nov 23: A local court has acquitted six people, including a woman, accused of trafficking minor girls in the western suburb of Vile Parle in 2006, as the girls turned hostile.

The sessions court acquitted them yesterday, after the girls deposed that the accused were helping them in getting jobs and had never misbehaved with them.

The prosecution argued that the accused were caught red handed while accepting money from the bogus customers in the Bawa International Hotel, during a raid conducted by the police, following information from an NGO named International Justice Mission. The prosecution also alleged that the four minor girls were brought there under the pretext of getting them jobs.

However, Defence advocate Abdul Wahab Khan argued that the members of the NGO had themselves called the accused, saying they need some people for household chores. He contended that the accused knew all the girls and they wanted to help them in getting the job since they all lived in an impoverished condition. Mr Khan argued that the six people accompanied the girls to bargain about salary and job conditions.

The court accepted the defence arguments and acquitted the accused as the prosecution failed to prove the charges against them.

UNI