'Faraskhana cops aiding brothel owners' 

'Faraskhana cops aiding brothel owners' 

Pune: Officials of Faraskhana police station, accused in the past for denying help to a hapless labourer from Amravati in finding his seven-year-old daughter and wife who were trafficked to Budhwar Peth, have a murky record of not arresting accused in trafficking cases and tipping-off brothel owners before raids. 

"The moment any NGO dealing with anti-human trafficking enters the premises of Faraskhana police station or any senior officer plans a raid, calls are made by a few police officials to brothel owners, helping them escape or hide trafficked girls," said a source privy to various raids and investigations with Faraskhana police. A senior police officer has also confirmed about such 'tippers' at Faraskhana and Shukrawar Peth police chowki. Money is involved in exchange for the tip-off, he added. 

A case from 2007 
An official associated with a national-level anti-human trafficking organisation, on condition of anonymity, told Sakal Times, "In 2007, a raid was conducted at a brothel in Budhwar Peth run by a person from Karnataka to rescue a minor girl from Karnataka. Although the girl was rescued, the brothel owner escaped. Later, it was revealed that the brothel owner received a tip-off before the raid by a constable from Shukrawar Peth chowki." 

"The brothel owner remained absconding for nine years and no chargesheet was filed by the police. She was recently arrested, but it seems to be a plot to dispose the case. The minor trafficked, who currently lives in Karnataka, was bribed by a Faraskhana police official to not testify against the brothel owner," added the official. 

Faraskhana's dark deeds 
Another source said a constable from Faraskhana police station has done a similar deed. He said, "A girl was trafficked from West Bengal and rescued by the police and NGOs. But when she and her father appeared in court, a constable approached them, offering Rs 25,000 as hush money. All this happened on the court premises. The incident intimidated the victims so much that they didn’t appear in court." 

A senior police official said, "Not every cop is corrupt, but yes there are some black sheep. We have observed that when the raids are pre-planned, brothel owners get enough time to hide trafficked girls or escape. Some cops are getting large sums of money from them." 

Loose paperwork 
A source said the police are least interested in arresting the culprits. They take action to close the brothels just for namesake. There brothels start operating again within 3-4 months, while as per rules, a brothel should be sealed for 1 to 3 years. The cops do loose paperwork and help the accused get bail, he added. 

PM Nair, a retired IPS and an expert in anti-human trafficking, said, "There is immense amount of money in human trafficking. Good police officers should personally investigate and bring rogue cops to book." 

Will take action: CP 
"We are doing our best to close brothels in the city, but if there are any cops aiding the traffickers, I will definitely look into the matter and take necessary action against them,” said Rashmi Shukla, Police Commissioner of Pune. 

HC irked with police's role 
A PIL was filed by 'Freedom Firm' (NGO) in the Mumbai High Court in 2015 with regard to 42 cases of trafficking in Faraskhana police station's jurisdiction. FIRs were registered and in each case, the accused are stated to be absconding on being released on bail. Out of the 42 cases, eight cases were on a priority basis. 

The court stated that the damage in the 42 cases was to such an extent that the Commissioner of Police, Pune, should attend the court and give priority to these cases. 

Though two years have passed since the strictures, the police have managed to arrest only five of the accused.  

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