Mumbai, March 19 The Bombay High Court on Thursday asked Thane Police Commissioner D Shivanandan to supervise a case involving trafficking of 16 minor girls who were rescued from a bar in Bhiwandi last month.
The court said that it would highly appreciate if the police commissioner looked into the case personally. It also observed that the police are handling the case in an insensitive manner.
International Justice Mission (IJM), an NGO that aided the police in rescuing 30 girls from Dhoom Bar in Bhiwandi on February 8, moved the HC alleging that the Shantinagar police refused to register an FIR and let the girls back into the illegal prostitution net. However, the FIR was registered after IJM moved the HC and the girls were put up at an observation home.
Arguing before the court on Thursday, advocate for IJM Michelle Mendonca told the court that of the 30 girls rescued from the bar, 16 appeared to be minor and were sent for age verification. However, Medonca added that only five of the seemingly minor girls were produced before the magistrate on March 5 and the rest brought to court were the rescued major girls.
Justice J N Patel and Justice Sambhaji Shinde have now directed the police to give the court a feedback on the status of the rescued girls and also to report the developments in their probe within two weeks.
Public Prosecutor Satish Borulkar informed the court that the probe has been handed over to an officer of the additional commissioner of police rank. The court, however, said that if any of the rescued girls were found to be from outside Maharashtra, the investigations will have to be handed over to CBI.
In their petition, IJM had urged the court to direct action against the police officers of Shantinagar police station who were allegedly helping the owners of the bar, who were liable for prosecution under the Prevention of Illegal Trafficking Act, 1956.
Express news serviceExpressindia.com; Posted online: Thursday , March 20, 2008 at 12:44:05Updated: Thursday , March 20, 2008 at 01:06:14
About Me
- Kamal Kumar Pandey (Adv. Supreme Court of India)
- Lawyer Practising at Supreme Court of India. Court Experience: Criminal, Civil & PIL (related to Property, Tax, Custom & Duties, MVAC, insurance, I.P.R., Copyrights & Trademarks, Partnerships, Labour Disputes, etc.) Socio-Legal: Child Rights, Mid Day Meal Programme, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, Women Rights, Against Female Foeticide, P.R.Is, Bonded Labour, Child labour, Child marriage, Domestic violence, Legal Literacy, HIV/AIDS, etc. Worked for Legal Aid/Advise/Awareness/Training/Empowerment/Interventions/Training & Sensitisation.
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