NEW DELHI, May 12: In a joint operation by the police and members of organisations working for children’s rights over 40 minor girls, aged between 10 and 17 years, were rescued from as many as 15 orchestra groups under the Kuchaikot police station limits in Bihar’s Gopalganj district late on Monday night.
Twenty-two people were arrested for their alleged involvement in child trafficking and exploitation of children.
Recently, in an undercover operation, a female journalist working for a Hindi national newspaper had unearthed the exploitation of girls working in orchestra groups in Bihar. The journalist is said to have lived with girls in an orchestra group operating in the Siwan-Gopalganj area of the State for five days to understand their ordeal and exploitation “first hand.”
Following the late-night operation in Gopalganj on Monday, the rescued girls were counselled and later shifted to safety. The operation was led by senior police officials Amit Kumar Jain, Additional Director General of Police (Weaker Sections), Gopalganj Superintendent of Police Vinay Tiwary, and officials of the local Kuchaikot police station.
Members of Association for Voluntary Action and Narayani Sewa Sansthan, organisations working for children’s rights and protection, were also part of the operation to rescue minor girls working in as many as 15 orchestra groups in the area.
The girls rescued in the operation were aged between 10 and 17 years, and several of them were allegedly trafficked from different parts of the country, including West Bengal, Assam, Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. “The operation has once again exposed the scale at which minor girls are being trafficked and pushed into orchestra groups operating in parts of Bihar. These children are lured into this highly exploitative network, sexually abused and exploited,” said Manish Sharma, Senior Director of Association for Voluntary Action.
He added, “Perpetrators need to be punished severely and these children rehabilitated and compensated adequately and urgently. The system cannot fail these children once again with any kind of delay in justice.”
Members of the voluntary action groups said they had conducted month-long surveillance of orchestra groups and found that trafficked minor girls were allegedly lured into the profession, mostly during the wedding season, and subjected to sexual exploitation.
During primary counselling, the rescued girls reportedly revealed that they had either been sold by their fake boyfriends or lured into the network with promises of money, fame and opportunities to work in Bhojpuri films.
“It is deeply disturbing that organised trafficking of minor girls continues to operate through orchestra groups by targeting and exploiting them. This is a structured criminal ecosystem that thrives on demand, weak enforcement and vulnerability of children,” Ravi Kant, national convener of the Just Rights for Children organisation, said.
He added that “there is an urgent need for sustained inter-State coordination, stricter monitoring of such networks, especially during wedding seasons, and stronger accountability mechanisms to dismantle these networks permanently”.
Police officials involved in the operation said investigations were under way and further details were being probed. They added that those found guilty would not be spared.
Girls working in orchestra groups in Bihar is a common sight. On May 8, four girls, including three minors, were rescued by the police in the Silao area of Nalanda district. The rescued girls were allegedly working for an orchestra-cum-dance group.
In 2017, the issue had drawn attention after the release of the Bollywood film Anaarkali of Aarah on the subject starring Swara Bhasker and directed by Avinash Das.
(Manas Dasgupta)
