Delhi pimps conscience, 'virgins' on sale

NATION'S SHAME: There's a huge demand for underage, virgin girls in metros like Delhi.

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New Delhi: The national capital is fast gaining the dubious distinction as a hub of underage prostitution racket.

Minor girls are being pimped as "virgins" for huge prices to customers from across India and the market is thriving. Experts say the alarming trend is common to most metro cities but Delhi 's underbelly seems to be the murkiest.

A CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team went undercover, posing as customers and found child traffickers offering young minor girls for a price without a care for the law.

The first girl on offer was Payal (name changed), a underage girl being touted by a pimp called Mukesh at a shop in south Delhi. Mukesh regularly “supplies” underage, virgin girls to customers in Delhi.

Their “going rates” are on his fingertips. Given below is an excerpt from a conversation CNN-IBN had with Mukesh.

Mukesh: Uska bahut mota paisa lagega. (Payal will be very expensive)

CNN-IBN: Kitna lagega? (How much?)

Mukesh: Kam se kam 80-90 hazar rupay lagega. (At least Rs 80,000 to Rs 90,000.)

A week later, Rahul, Mukesh's right hand man got Payal to meet the SIT team again and repeatedly assured that she was a minor.

Rahul: (I assure you she is young, but you should be the only one having intercourse with her, otherwise there’ll be trouble and I will be in trouble.)

CNN-IBN: Khoon nikelaga? (Will she bleed?)

Rahul: Haan. Nahi niklega toh paisey ley jao. Rs 1000 de dena. (Yes. She will. If she does not, you’ll get your money back. Just pay us Rs 1,000 in that case.)

During the investigation, the SIT found there was a huge demand for underage girls in metros like Delhi.

CEO of NGO Naz Foundation, Anjali Gopalan explains the disturbing trend. “Minor girls are being increasingly pushed into the flesh market because many men think they will be safe from being infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases,” she says.

That’s not all. With girl children fetching up to Rs 1 lakh, traffickers like Rahul and Mukesh admitted family members were often prepared to push their girls into the flesh trade.

Clearly, it’s the money that drives the perverse virgin prostitute racket, pushing thousands of minor girls into sexual slavery.