BHOPAL: Hundreds of minors and young girls pushed into prostitution by their parents from the Banchara community in Ratlam, Mandsaur and Neemuch districts of Madhya Pradesh may finally have a ray of hope in a 23-year-old law student.
Akash Chauhan, a Banchara himself, has petitioned the MP High Court asking for a crackdown against prostitution dens in 72 villages along the Mhow-Nazirabad state highway connecting MP with adjoining Rajasthan. These brothels have been running for many years.
Chauhan, a law student from Neemuch district (adjacent to Rajasthan) has filed a Public Interest Litigation before MP High Court seeking action against the racket.
The young petitioner has alleged that Banchara community elders were pushing their own daughters into roadside prostitution at dens being run in dhabas and deras across the state highway. He has also suspected that minor girls from other parts of the country were being trafficked here.
The young petitioner who also runs a voluntary organisation, Nai Abha, has sought police protection alleging that he was recently attacked by members of his own community in a local court in Neemuch.
Hearing the PIL, the MP High Court’s Indore bench comprising Justices PK Jaiswal and Virender Singh issued notices to the respondents on December 1, seeking a reply within four weeks. The respondents include Principal Secretary (women and Child Development department) and IG (Law and Order) in Bhopal, Ujjain Divisional Commissioner, collectors and police superintendents of Neemuch, Mandsaur and Ratlam districts.
“In the PIL, the details of the villages where the Banchara community has been running prostitution dens for decades have been listed. Of the total 72 such villages, the maximum (38) are in Mandsaur district, 24 in Neemuch and ten in Ratlam. The most prominent among these villages are Parwalia, Dodar, Jaitpura, Neelkhand, Malankheda and Pipliya Joda,” Chauhan told The Sunday Standard.
“Girls aged between 10 and 18 years are being either pushed into roadside prostitution by their own parents or being trafficked through an organised network of Bancharas from different parts of the country. It was in 2011 that there was a crackdown against the dhabas and deras housing these prostitution dens... Several girls were rescued,” said Chauhan.
Six years on, the prostitution dens along the state highway continue to thrive. The local police winks at the trade, he alleged.
Forced into flesh trade
There are prostitution dens in 72 villages — 38 in Mandsaur district, 24 in Neemuch and 10 in Ratlam — along the Mhow-Nazirabad state highway
Banchara community elders are pushing their daughters into roadside prostitution at dens being run in dhabas and deras along the highway
Girls aged between 10 and 18 years are either pushed into roadside prostitution by their parents or are trafficked through an organised network of Bancharas