Missing Girls Forced into Flesh Trade, Priest Among Five Held

The Hindu
August 7, 2014

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/puducherry/missing-girls-forced-into-flesh-trade-priest-among-five-held/article6290983.ece

Two girl students studying in Classes VI and IX who went missing two months ago were traced by the police on Monday and entrusted to the custody of the Child Welfare Committee here on Tuesday.

It was alleged that the girls, aged 12 - 14 years, who fell into the vile influence of a gang were forced into the flesh trade. In this connection the police arrested five persons, including a priest, a layman and three women and remanded them in judicial custody on Wednesday.

Those arrested include priest Aruldas (60) of Vishistapuram, Kala (48) and Jameena of Vriddhachalam, Sathish Kumar of Vadalur and Dhanalakshmi of Thittakudi.

They were booked under various counts such as kidnapping, wrongful confinement and violation of the Prevention of Child Abuse Act, 2012.

The girls with unhappy family backgrounds, studying in the Thittakudi government higher secondary school, struck friendship and ran away two months ago.

They were in the habit of visiting a church at Vishistapuram near Thittakudi where the priest befriended them and kept them in his residence and sexually abused them. One Sathish Kumar of the area who came to know of the sexual escapades of the priest exploited the situation to his advantage and used the girls to fulfil his carnal desire. Later, the girls were sold for a consideration to three women Kala and Jameena of Vriddhachalam and Dhanalakshmi of Thittakudi who paid Rs 25,000 each for their procurement.

It was at Vadalur the police traced the girls. One of the girls lost her mother and her father went for a second marriage, leaving the daughter in the lurch.

Another girl’s parents simply neglected her.