A 16-year-old girl was rescued from a prostitution racket following a police raid in Dwarka, New Delhi. The operation was carried out based on intelligence provided by the Association for Voluntary Action (AVA).
The teenager, who appeared bruised and exhausted, disclosed that she had been trafficked into the sex trade nearly a year ago. Forced to service between eight and 10 clients each night, she was trapped by threats and coercion.
A key accused, identified as Ibrahim, has been arrested, and police have registered a First Information Report (FIR). Authorities are actively pursuing other members of the racket.
Nightly ordeal
The survivor explained how traffickers ignored her complaints of pain, instead providing painkillers to mask symptoms before forcing her back to work. On a few rare occasions, she was paid a meagre Rs 500. Any attempt to escape was met with threats of releasing explicit videos online.
“My friend introduced me to a man who promised me a lot of money. I didn’t realise what I was being pushed into,” she said. “When I tried to leave, they threatened to make my videos public.”
She further revealed that her mother passed away years ago, and she lived with her alcoholic father, who was unaware of her plight. “He doesn’t know. I have told him that I work in a call centre, so my work hours are at night,” she said. Every evening around 5 pm, she left home, attending to around 10 clients until early morning hours.
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Operation details
The raid was spearheaded by AVA, a partner organisation of Just Rights for Children (JRC), a network comprising over 250 NGOs across 418 districts in India.
Manish Sharma, senior director of AVA, detailed the covert operation. “Our team posed as customers and got in touch with the linchpin. It took us almost a month to gain his trust,” he explained. “Finally, after much dilly-dallying, advance online payment, and a change of location, he called us to Dwarka. We immediately informed Dwarka’s Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Ankit Singh, who promptly informed his team and prepared for the raid.”
Despite a last-minute shift to a flat in Mohan Garden near Dwarka, Singh coordinated effectively with the local police station. During the raid, police discovered empty alcohol bottles, antibiotics for vaginal infections, painkillers, and other medications. While Ibrahim was apprehended, investigators suspect involvement of a larger network.
Concerns raised
Sharma praised the swift police action but expressed deep concern about the rising prevalence of such rackets in New Delhi.
“It’s alarming that these operations are running in our neighbourhoods,” Sharma said. “We’ve seen a rise in isolated cases of prostitution in home-based settings or massage parlours since COVID. Tracking the financial trail, especially online payments, could help dismantle these networks by identifying the entire chain of exploitation.”
According to a JRC report, Delhi is among the five worst-performing states regarding children trapped in severe forms of child labour. Between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, around 2,588 children were rescued in the national capital alone. Alarmingly, 90% of these rescues involved situations categorised as the worst forms of child labour, including slavery, forced labour, child trafficking, child prostitution, child pornography, involvement in illicit activities such as drug trafficking, and hazardous occupations detrimental to their health, safety, or morals.
