Pune:
Thirty-nine minors were huddled in two small rooms at the dilapidated Mundhwa remand home in Pune. Dark and dingy, the premises did not have any security guards, as a visit to the establishment revealed.
The Andhra Pradesh CID unit and the city police had jointly conducted a massive rescue operation on Monday night to rescue girls trapped in Budhwar Peth brothels who were later taken to the Mundhwa remand home. The girls had resisted going with the police while they were being rescued. Some even undressed and stood stark naked, challenging the police to take them in that condition.
(Read: Sex workers strip to escape cops in Pune)
Constable Raut, the policewoman in charge of the minors, said, "Twenty minor girls rescued under Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) were brought to the remand home around 9 pm on Tuesday."
"We served khichdi and pickle to the new girls but some of them insisted that they should be served outside food instead," said an inmate.
Constable Raut said that some girls were unhappy on being brought to the remand home and had refused food.
"We have 19 girls below the age of 18 years. Now there are additional 20 girls and we have to share the two rooms assigned to us," said the inmate who has been at the home for several years. "There are two toilet blocks on the first floor and the drainage system is in a bad state. The stench is unbearable."
Another inmate, requesting anonymity, said "There have been several instances when girls run away from the premises and some of them are caught later and brought here again. Some cases have been repeated. The girls once rescued end up embracing the same trade."
However, the superintendent of the remand home M S Gaikwad said that there were no security issues. "But we do not have adequate manpower to handle the current load," said Gaikwad.