Mandsaur's ugly truth: Sex trade in the name of tradition

October 12, 2012

Bopal_sex_trade

Bhopal, October 12: Just 350 kilmetres from Bhopal, dotted along the Mandsaur-Chittorgarh state highway are girls and women indulging in the sex trade. Nothing unusual, except these women belonging to the Bachda tribe conduct the sex trade in the name of tradition. For them, prostitution is a way of life, passed down generations. No questions asked.

This happens in 35 villages alongside the highway from Mandsaur to Chittorgarh in Rajasthan where pan shops and tea stalls with girl attendants are just a cover up. Asking for a 12-year-old for the night is not considered unusual.

When NDTV reached the highway and asked for a couple of pre-pubescent girls for the night, they were told it could be arranged for.


In the 100 km stretch from Mandsaur to Chittorgarh, the NDTV crew spotted at least 700 girls soliciting customers. Girls who should have ideally been in school or college. They spend their day luring customers who are mainly truck drivers.


And the presence of policemen doesn't seem to be any deterrent as many women say the police understand and respect 'their tradition.' " The police does not bother us as they know that we have been living here and doing this for generations as part of our tradition," says one such woman on the highway. "There is no particular reason why we are into prostitution. The girls do it of their own free will; we have been doing this from the beginning. There's been no prohibition by the authorities so it has been continuing from generations," she adds.

The police on the other hand say their efforts in curbing this form of prostitution have reaped benefits and fewer girls are now seen on the highway.

But another disturbing reality emerges. While the tribes are now sending their girls to school and colleges, girls from other places and tribes are kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Police say they rescued 62 girls in the last two years, 25 of them who were reunited with their biological parents.


What is ironic is that in the early 90s the Madhya Pradesh Government started the Jabali Yojna, a rehabilitation program for the Bachda and other tribes that push women into prostitution as tradition, but one trip down the highway just demonstrates how the programme's implementation remains ineffective.



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News Network
June 27,2020

Guna (MP),  Jun 27: A 20-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly eloping with her minor partner and "marrying" her at Guna town in Madhya Pradesh, police said on Saturday.

The matter came to light, when a resident of Budhe Balaji area approached the Kotwali police station on Monday with a complaint that his 17-year-old daughter had gone missing, additional superintendent of police T S Baghel said.

On investigation, it was found that a relative from a village Shivpuri district, who was living with the family, was also missing, he said.

A team was sent to the village and the duo was caught on Friday, the official said, adding that the woman had married the minor, who claimed that she had eloped of her own volition.

The woman was arrested under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, while the minor was sent back to her family after counselling.

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Agencies
February 6,2020

Akhil Bhartiya Hindu Mahasabha President Ranjit Bachchan was shot dead on Sunday because of an extra-marital relationship of his second wife.

Lucknow Police Commissioner Sujit Pandey said at a press conference here on Thursday that Ranjit Bachchan's second wife Smriti Srivastava, her paramour Dipendra and driver Sanjit Gautam have been arrested in connection with the case. All three were held on Thursday, while the shooter -- Jitendra -- is yet to be arrested.

Pandey said that Smriti wanted a divorce from Ranjit Bachchan and their case was pending in the family court since 2016. While she was keen to marry Dipendra, Ranjit Bachchan was unwilling to leave her.

"On January 17, Ranjit had met Smriti and even slapped her, which became the provocation for the murder," he said.

The Police Commissioner said that during investigation, the police had probed all possible angles, including a terror angle.

"We found there were no financial disputes, no property disputes and no terror angle to the case. It emerged that Smriti had an affair with Dipendra and wanted to leave Ranjit Bachchan, who had four criminal cases against him. Through technical and electronic surveillance, we found the connection between Smriti, Dipendra, driver Sanjit and the shooter Jitendra," he said.

Ranjeet Bachchan, 40, who had founded the Vishwa Hindu Mahasabha, was shot in the head on Sunday morning while his brother Aditya Srivastava was injured in the attack by the assailant who also snatched their mobile phones.

The attacker had covered himself in a shawl and was on foot. The police had released CCTV footages showing a suspect and announced a cash reward of Rs 50,000 for providing information.

Four police personnel, including a sub-inspector, were suspended for alleged laxity and a case was registered at the Hazratganj po

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News Network
April 12,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 12: Two police officials have been booked for murder in connection with the alleged custodial death of a theft accused in Bengaluru rural district, police said on Saturday.

A case of murder has been registered against inspector Raghu and sub-inspector Rakesh C for the alleged custodial death of Munikulla on Friday afternoon, Superintendent of Police, Bengaluru rural district, Ravi D Channannavar told reporters.

"Yes. A case has been registered and transferred to CID," he said.

Munikulla, a resident of Nadavatti village, was picked up by the police on April 7, his wife Dhanalakshmi told the media on Saturday.

"Policemen took my husband with them. They beat him up and killed him," she said.

Alleging that Munikulla was a victim of police high- handedness, Hoskote MLA Sharath Bachegowda said he had lodged a complaint with the state DGP Praveen Sood demanding a CID inquiry into the case.

An FIR was registered against Munikulla on Friday evening based on a complaint by the cashier of the liquor store, who had claimed that the CCTV footage showed victim's involvement.

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