# Girls Forced Into The Flesh Trade, What Can Be Done?



## badshah (Aug 3, 2010)

Jalandhar, Punjab: The lure of greener pastures, coupled with the nexus of a fake travel agent, has landed two girls into the vicious circle of forcible prostitution. The girls have been trapped at Singapore since June 19.

President of Lok Bhalai Party, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, lodged a complaint with the district police in this regard. Parvesh Kumar, alias Mintu, the Jalandhar-based travel agent not only duped the girls in the name of providing them with jobs, but has been blackmailing their family to provide an extra amount of Rs 2 lakh if they wanted their daughters back home safely. The duo had paid Rs 1 lakh to the agent for reaching Singapore.

Amandeep Kaur (24), a resident of Tarn Taran, left for Singapore on June 16. The girl was promised a job on a monthly salary of Rs 35,000.

However, on reaching Singapore, the girl was not given any job, instead asked to take to the flesh trade and beaten up. Another girl, Suman, from Kaki Pind in Rama Mandi, Jalandhar, also left for Singapore along with Amandeep.

The girls reached Singapore on June 19. Davinder Kaur, the mother of Amandeep Kaur, appealed before the media for the early rescue of her daughter.

“I received calls from my daughter who informed me that the travel agent is beating her and forcing her to take to prostitution. Now the agent is demanding another Rs 2 lakh as an amount to release her from Singapore”, she added. She also said though her family managed to arrange Rs 50,000 for the release of her daughter, but to no avail.

“Parvesh sent me his account number through SMS and asked me to deposit the money in his account at the earliest. I am virtually helpless as I mortgaged everything to send my daughter abroad,” she rued.

Earlier, Suman worked with a dance troupe at the local eating joint Haveli, situated on the Jalandhar-Phagwara National Highway.

It was here that she got in touch with the travel agent and was lured on the pretext of a two-year work permit at Singapore.

Lambasting the consecutive state governments for their failure to control rampant human trafficking, Ramoowalia said an approximate 8,000 girls have landed in the flesh trade in the past eight years. “It is a pity that despite raising such matters in the media from time to time, the government refuses to wake up from its slumber”, he added.


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