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The women and children who arrive here are first "seasoned" to enter the business: they are raped several times before being made available to customers. In addition, some of the most perverted forms of sexual brutality are forced on them so that they will be fit to entertain a wide-ranging clientele of customers and their varied tastes. There are also "special trainers"-- men who find pleasure in raping women. "Training" children is a particular pleasure of many of these men.
The "trainers" are from various backgrounds, of which local politicians and policemen form the majority. Once within the boundaries of Shivdaspur, there is no escape for a woman. They are locked up in dozens of houses. The "trainers" are allowed into the room, and no one interferes. The only condition for their "training program" is that the woman or child must remain alive.
After the "training," the women are expected to entertain local customers for a while. This ensures some short-term profit for the local pimps. Later the women are sold to other brothels across the country and abroad. The involvement of the local police and politicians in these negotiations ensures the least interference with the business. These influential contacts also create a wall of protection for the industry.
Anyone who tries to interfere will find this wall of protection so strong that it is practically impenetrable. In the past few years, Guria, a local human rights group, has tried to rescue dozens of women and children who have been brought to Shivdaspur. The group has been working in the area for years and has inside information about the nuances of the trade. Having been informed that on Oct. 25, 2005, a batch of women would be sold in Shivdaspur, Guria decided to launch a rescue operation to save them.
Before attempting the rescue, Guria informed the local police at the Maduadih police station. It even informed the police about the time when the women would change hands. However the police, in spite of repeated calls, failed to show up. Finally, with no other means, Guria launched the rescue operation with the help of several volunteers.
Although Guria was rescuing women who were being sold against their will, the local police who finally arrived at the scene initially refused to accept the women. The police also chased away the volunteers. The police later charged Guria's activists for allegedly breaking into houses and destroying property.
In response to this incident, there was an immediate public outcry against the police and the flesh trade that was flourishing under their protection. Finding their involvement in illegal activities exposed, the police registered cases against several pimps and a few other people who were connected with the sex industry in Shivdaspur.
The investigation of the case, however, took a curious twist. The kingpin of the sex trade in Shivdaspur, Rahmat Khan, had still not been arrested. He was regularly collecting his money from the brothels and walking openly on the streets even though an arrest warrant had been issued for him. The police could not delay Khan's arrest indefinitely, but they knew that arresting him would be suicidal because he knew many police officers and their connections with the sex industry.
The local police, including high officers, feared that if Khan were arrested he might reveal sensitive information, exposing some of the police officers and the flourishing flesh trade. Consequently, Khan was shot dead in November 2005, and his body was found in a remote village away from the city. The police version of his killing was that he was shot while resisting arrest. With Khan now dead, the police believed they had saved themselves from prosecution and further embarrassment.
The case against the pimps and the countercase against Guria are now being fought in the courts. Each time the case against the rest of the pimps is taken up by the trial court, Khan's wife, one of the accused along with several other criminals, obtains a stay order from the Allahabad High Court. In response to these stay orders, Guria files an objection with the court and has the stay order vacated. Although opposing a stay order is the duty of the state prosecutor, the state prosecutor in the High Court allows the application to be heard unopposed. The High Court, which is to consider each application on its merits irrespective of whether it is opposed by the state or not, allows the application without the least hesitation. Guria is now caught in a battle in which it is engaged in the functions of a human rights group, the state prosecutor and the police.
No crime can flourish without the help of corrupt law enforcement officers. The trafficking of women and children is no exception. By the time a person finishes reading this column, several new recruits, both children and women, most likely will have been raped as part of their induction into the sex trade in Shivdaspur.
Guria will continue its work, undeterred by the threats and setbacks it has encountered. Banaras will continue to be a pilgrim center for Hindus and Buddhists. But no one, other than the four walls of a dimly lit house, will ever hear the cries of a thwarted childhood or of a woman who is raped repeatedly. Banaras will remain a city of widows, prostitutes and cows.
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(Bijo Francis is a human rights lawyer currently working with the Asian Legal Resource Center in Hong Kong. He is responsible for the South Asia desk at the center. Francis has practiced law for more than a decade and holds an advanced master's degree in human rights law.)
