Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08NEWDELHI3264
2008-12-31 09:29:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy New Delhi
Cable title:  

MAHARASHTRA COURT CONVICTS TRAFFICKER

Tags:  PGOV PHUM GTIP IN 
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VZCZCXRO7750
OO RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHNEH RUEHPW
DE RUEHNE #3264 3660929
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 310929Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4893
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
UNCLAS NEW DELHI 003264 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM GTIP IN
SUBJECT: MAHARASHTRA COURT CONVICTS TRAFFICKER

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 003264

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM GTIP IN
SUBJECT: MAHARASHTRA COURT CONVICTS TRAFFICKER


1. (U) Tamil Nadu-based nongovernmental organization (NGO)
Freedom Firm notified post of its first successful conviction
in a trafficking in persons (TIP) case in a Pune, Maharashtra
court. Freedom Firm infiltrates likely trafficking
destinations and informs police when a potential trafficking
victim has been found. Police then conduct a raid to rescue
the victim.


2. (U) In March 2007, Freedom Firm's Somling Kamble and James
Varghese received a tip-off that a minor had been forced into
prostitution in the red-light district of Budhwar Peth, Pune.
The NGO workers assisted sub-inspector Gajanan Pawar of the
Faraskhana police in the rescue of the victim -- a
16-year-old girl of Nepalese descent. An unidentified woman
had kidnapped the victim from her home in Kolkata and sold
her to Sonam Roy, a Nepalese brothel-owner in Pune. Police
arrested Roy under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act
and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.


3. (U) The trial lasted from February to December 2008 --
speedy by Indian standards. Public Prosecutor C.G. Kulkarni,
assisted by Freedom Firm's appointed attorney Rohit Takawane,
examined six witnesses to establish Roy's guilt. Freedom
Firm's Director of Legal Strategy Glen Park's noted that the
victim repeatedly tried to give NGO workers "the slip" out of
fear to face her trafficker; however, she proved to be a
strong witness. On December 20, Judge T.M. Jahagirdhar
sentenced Roy to five years "rigorous imprisonment" for
forcing a minor into prostitution.


4. (SBU) Parks remarked that the NGO rescues "quite a few"
girls out of prostitution, but convictions are rare. He
believes that several unique factors contributed to the
success of this case, namely the "foreign factor," widespread
bias against Nepalis in India that worked against Roy. More
practically, as an outsider she had few contacts in Pune and
could not bribe officials and witnesses with the same ease as
other brothel owners. Parks added that the expedited trial
also assisted Freedom Firm's legal team. Comment - while the
circumstances of this case are unique, we hope the moderate
media attention the conviction garnered will emphasize to
NGOs, law enforcement, and the judiciary in India that each
victory against TIP matters. End Comment.
MULFORD