Christian organization rescues a young Indian girl sold by her mother

By Jacob Philip
Assistant Correspondent in India for the ASSIST News Service

MUMBAI, INDIA (ANS) -- The Indian Rescue Mission (IRM), an organisation that rescues minor girls that have been sold, trafficked and forced into prostitution, was recently able to rescue a 14-year-old girl from the clutches of her perpetrators, and from her own people who were trying to sell her virginity and then force her into prostitution.

The rescued girl – pictured blurred to protect her identity

A couple of weeks prior to this rescue, which was done with the help of the local police, IRM received information of a girl child selling racket in Mumbai city and the team verified the information by investigating on the case.

After several days of hard work and meeting with the lady pimp and the mother who were selling her daughter * Jytohi (name changed for security reasons), finally the day came, when she was rescued.

Speaking to ANS, Mr. James Varghese, Founder President of the Indian Rescue Mission said, “We received information of a mother selling her daughter for about $2,000 USD in Mumbai city and our team traveled to the city and then planned a rescue operation which was successful.”

According to a statement that she gave to the police, the rescued girl said, “I was told by my mother that we were going to Mumbai to see my aunt. I was there for a month and, during that time; I was taken before several rich people whom I did not personally know. All I could understand was that a negotiation for money was made, but I was not aware that the ‘dealing’ was for me.”

She added, “Social workers from the Indian Rescue Mission came to my help and rescued me from my own mother and aunt who were trying to sell me off. I would like to express my thanks to the Indian Rescue Mission.”

When counseling the girl, social workers from the Indian Rescue Mission asked her whether she was aware that she was going to be sold for sex to a customer and were shocked when she asked “What is sex?”

James Varghese with girls after a previous rescue conducted by his organization

Speaking about this incident, Mr. Varghese, who is also a correspondent for the ASSIST News Service, said, “It is such a sad thing to know that a girl who is innocent, and does not know anything about what was happening to her when she was getting sold, has to go through such a terrible experience.

“We took action on this because if we don’t rescue girls like her, then she would be sold to someone else who would exploit her, which would become a nightmare for her.”

The rescued girl has since been placed in a safe home in Mumbai where she will undergo training and counseling sessions.

“The Indian Rescue Mission wants to help this girl get a good education and then make her stand on her own feet,” explained Mr. Varghese.

If you have been touched by reading this story, it is possible for you to make big difference. There are hundreds of young girls being sold to brothels every day in India. We can stop this only if we join with an organization like IRM that works to rescue these innocent children.

If you would like to help, then write to them to support their work at:indianrescuemission@gmail.com or info@indianrescuemission.org

For more details on their work, you can also visit them at: www.indianrescuemission.org

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Jacob Philip works as a correspondent for an Indian newspaper and also serves as the Assistant Correspondent in India for ASSIST News Service. Jacob lives in Bangalore and runs a software development business. He can be contacted by e-mail at: jacobforchrist@gmail.com

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