Two men in the dock for trafficking Manipuri girls

BANGALORE: Two girls from Manipur, aged around 19 years, were rescued from two houses in Katriguppe and JP Nagar, where they were working as maids. The two men who allegedly detained them in their houses for over 40 days were arrested and produced before the III additional chief metropolitan magistrate on Wednesday.

Praja Rajakiya Vedike (PRV), the NGO which rescued the girls, said they were brought from Churchandpur, Manipur. Police have booked cases against the two men, one an employer and another an agent who brought them from that state, under the SC and ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act.

Manohar Elavarthi of PRV claimed police are trying to dilute the issue by booking the culprits under a cheating case. He said the girls were rescued last month following a request from Kuki Students Association of Bangalore.

"The two girls were lured by an agent and promised jobs as beauticians in a parlour for a monthly salary of Rs 5,000, along with free food and accommodation. They were brought to Bangalore by train by a Manipuri man from Moyrang. They were handed over to another agent, identified as Mala.

Mala, who also speaks Manipuri, stays in Bangalore with her husband. After keeping the girls in her house for a couple of days, they were told to work as maids in two houses -- one in Katriguppe and the other in JP Nagar -- on June 1," said Elavarthi.