44 minor girls from Chhattisgarh rescued from Bihar’s Rohtas district; to undergo pregnancy, HIV tests

RAIPUR: In a major raid in Bihar’s Rohtas district, at least 44 girls and three boys from Chhattisgarh were rescued from a building in the Natwar Bazar area, where they were associated with an “orchestra group.” The market is a well-known red-light area, and it is suspected that all the children were pushed into the flesh trade.
There is a possibility that some minor girls might be pregnant, but all the rescued children are undergoing pregnancy and HIV tests.
Joint teams from the police and the Women and Child Welfare Department have left for Rohtas to bring back the rescued children, who are from various districts of the state.
Earlier reports highlighted how girls were being taken to northern states under the pretext of working for “orchestra groups.” These groups reportedly employ them as bar girls at private farmhouse parties before pushing them into the flesh trade and escort services.
It is shocking that such a large number of minors from different districts, including the state capital, were trafficked to Bihar. The children are from Raipur, Durg, Rajnandgaon, Janjgir Champa, Mungeli, Baloda Bazar, and Bilaspur.
A police official said that based on intelligence inputs, Rohtas police, along with *Bachpan Bachao Andolan*, conducted a joint raid on a location where an orchestra and dance group was operating. Although the rescued children did not possess Aadhar cards or birth certificates to verify their ages, the police are currently treating them as minors.
The children were presented before the Child Welfare Committee and are being counseled to record their statements clearly, police said. The children claimed they had come with their parents’ permission for work and were in contact with them.
Calling the case a serious matter, a Rohtas police official stated that similar groups operate in the vicinity and will be placed under scrutiny and monitoring.
Police have arrested five accused who convinced the parents to send their children to another state, transported them, and got them enrolled in the orchestra group. Three of the accused are residents of Chhattisgarh.
Kapu region and Jashpur district are infamous for human trafficking and are considered hubs for recruiting minor girls and women. Victims are lured with job offers in metro cities and then transported illegally. Many are forced into the flesh trade, bonded labor, forced marriages, or employment in orchestra groups, where they work as bar dancers at private farmhouses and parties.
Earlier, tribal girls from Balod, Korba, and Janjgir Champa districts of Chhattisgarh were forced into sex slavery in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, after being promised good money for participating in dance contests. When they failed to return for five months, their parents reported the matter to the police.
The rescued girls later recounted horrific tales of being confined in dingy rooms all day and forced to wear skimpy clothes to dance at local parties, attracting customers. Traffickers then earned money by pushing them into the flesh trade.