Telangana: 11 trafficked minors, given sex hormone injections, rescued
Telangana Police have rescued 11 minors, including girls as young as five, from sex traffickers in the temple town of Yadagirigutta in Yadadri Bhongir. The traffickers had allegedly administered sex hormones to the little children to make them develop early so they could be pushed into the trade. While they had bought some children from agents, others had been abducted from railway stations, bus stops and elsewhere.
Police raided the place after locals reported children's cries
Police raided the Ganeshnagar area Monday afternoon after a local, who had heard a child's cries, tipped them off. The first raided house belonged to one Kamsani Kalyani, where officials found a trafficked child. After Kalyani admitted to the crime and provided information, police raided five other houses and rescued a total of 11 girls, including four seven-year-olds.
Girls were tortured, starved, confined
Police found the children had been administered hormonal injections costing Rs. 25,000 each so they attained sexual maturity early. They were tortured, starved and confined if they didn't follow orders. Some of them had been 'purchased' from Krishna Shankar and Kamsani Yadagiri for up to Rs. 2L. The younger the girl, the costlier she was, the traffickers, who had been running the racket for four years, said.
Traffickers pretended they were the biological mothers of the children
To keep the racket a secret, the women involved introduced the minors as their own children and even got them registered in local schools. When police first confronted Kalyani, she claimed that the children in her house were her own, but couldn't answer questions properly.
Charges under IPC, POCSO, ITPA slapped against traffickers
Eight people have been arrested, who have been identified as Kalyani, Kamsani Anitha, Kamsani Susheela, Kamsani Narsimha, Kamsani Sruthi, Kamsani Saritha, Kamsani Vani and Kamsani Vamshi, all locals. They have been booked under IPC Sections 371 (dealing in slaves), 376 (rape) and 372/373 (selling/buying minor for prostitution), among others. Relevant charges under POCSO Act and Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act have also been slapped.
