Cross Border Trafficking Case Exposes Protection Gaps

A Bangladeshi girl, 12, was trafficked to India and abused for three months before a coordinated rescue by police and NGOs.

Cross Border Trafficking Case Exposes Child Protection Gaps

A 12-year-old girl from Bangladesh was rescued from a sex trafficking ring in India after she was raped by more than 200 men over three months. Police say she ran away after failing an exam and feared her parents’ anger, then boarded a smuggler’s route to India with help from a woman she knew who sold her into the trade. She was first taken to Nadiad in Gujarat, where she was repeatedly abused. Ten people have been arrested in connection with the case.

The operation was a joint effort by the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar police and NGOs Exodus Road India Foundation and Harmony Foundation. Activists say the rescue is just the first step and call for broader action to protect other vulnerable children. Police say they are using all resources to uncover the entire network and to shield more children from predators. Public concerns about such crimes have grown as authorities warn that reporting gaps and a weak justice system allow cycles of abuse to continue.

This case underscores deep and persistent vulnerabilities that cross borders. Child trafficking networks rely on family pressures, poverty, and weak protection systems, making young people easy targets. The scale described—hundreds of perpetrators over a short period—highlights gaps in prevention, border controls, and survivor support. Even when rescues occur, conviction rates for child rape remain alarmingly low, and many cases go unreported because victims fear stigma or retaliation. The involvement of NGOs points to a crucial but unfinished role for civil society in safeguarding children, while authorities face the challenge of sustaining multi-agency coordination and providing trauma-informed care to survivors. Stronger prevention, faster investigations, and survivor-centered justice are essential to close the gap between rescue and real protection.

Highlights

Protection for children must be faster and more comprehensive, not just reactive