Abducted madrasa girl rescued from brothel

Police rescued a 14-year-old girl from a brothel in the district town on Tuesday night, five months after her abduction. 

The girl, a Class VIII student of a madrasa in Mahadan union of Sarishabari upazila of the district, was kidnapped by unidentified criminals on April 23 this year.

A farmer of Bilbalia village under the union adopted the girl around 10 years ago and brought her up along with arrangement of her schooling.

But woe befell her when criminals kidnapped her on way to her madrasa from home around 9:30am on April 23, Rezaul Karim, officer-in-charge of Sarishabari Police Station, quoted the victim's foster father as saying.

On April 25, the girl's father filed an abduction case with the police station accusing unnamed people.

“Since then we were trying to find the girl. Finally, acting on a tip, police rescued the girl from the brothel around 10:30pm, where she had been sold as a sex worker,” said the OC.

Sardarni Rekha Begum, supervisor of a group of sex workers including the rescued girl, managed to escape, he said.

Rekha is also president of Surjer Hashi Samaj Kalyan Samity, an organisation meant for the welfare of the sex workers at the brothel.

“We produced the girl before a court for recording her statement this (Wednesday) afternoon,” added the OC.