We had arrived just in the nick of time, and saved two young girls, who would have otherwise been forced into prostitution.

Sonu was born and raised in west Bengal. Her father was a driver but was barely able to make ends meet, the money he earned wasn’t much. Sonu managed to stay in school till the 10th standard, but she failed her exams and was forced to give up her education since her family couldn’t afford to keep her in school anymore, while failing her exams had also caused her to lose interest in studies.

Suddenly, her mother fell very sick and needed a kidney stone operation. Her father went to many people to borrow money, nobody was willing to help, then he met Ajay (name changed) who said that he was looking for a girl who could work as a domestic help in Mumbai. There was another girl, shalu, who was already leaving with him, but he needed one more and could even pay him right then and there. Sonu’s father reluctantly agreed, he took Ajay and Shalu to his home where he explained to Sonu that this was her chance to help her mother and that she needed to go with Ajay. Sonu felt like she had no choice, packed her belongings and left with them.

Both girls had no idea where they were when they got off the train on the outskirts of Mumbai, where they were handed over to a woman, with whom they stayed for a day and the next day she took them by train to Pune, where they were brought to Budhwar Peth. By this time, both girls felt uncomfortable since they recognized the kind of place they had been bought to, a brothel. The brothel manager sat them down and told them what she expected from them and that she had paid good money for them.

The girls were terrified and begged her to let them leave, but the manager screamed and threatened them, saying that they had to obey her and the customers if they wanted to live. Both girls were then taken to the inner rooms to be readied for their first day of work, an hour into getting ready, they heard a commotion, the manager came towards them and said that the police were there and not to say a word or they’d be very sorry.

We had arrived just in the nick of time, and saved two young girls, who would have otherwise been forced into prostitution.

When the police entered with the investigation team, they noticed how young both the girls looked and that they seemed really afraid. The rescue team spoke to the girls and convinced them to leave, after the girls reached the safety of our shelter home, they opened up and told us their story.