Debt-ridden families tied to ‘contracts’, minors trafficked to cities: 10 girls rescued after ‘discreet’ probe

3 min readJaipurJun 6, 2026 07:00 AM IST

Of the 10 rescued, seven are believed to be minors while one was legally an adult. The ages of the remaining two are still being verified.

Jhalawar police say they have busted a major interstate human trafficking racket exploiting minor girls, rescuing 10 girls and arresting five accused.

Police said the youngest girl rescued was four years old. One suspect has also been detained.

According to police, the probe, which began a month ago following media reports, uncovered an organised network of local brokers and agents allegedly targeting financially distressed families from the Kanjar community. An FIR was registered on June 2.

“We tried to talk to the families of the victims but they refused to speak. We then formed a confidential inquiry team that worked with the district’s Kanjar Rehabilitation Programme and discreetly visited Kanjar settlements across the district to verify the information,” Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar said.

“Minor girls were taken to Mumbai, Nagpur and other metropolitan cities for bar dancing and prostitution. The gang allegedly manipulated Aadhaar and other identity documents to portray the girls as adults, and forged identities and addresses to make tracing them difficult,” he said.

Additional SP Bhag Chandra alleged that young girls were tied to contracts by their families, with brokers taking them away once they reached puberty.

“The network operated at three levels. The first involved local agents identifying vulnerable girls from poor and debt-ridden families. The second comprised brokers who approached families, offered false promises of jobs and financial security, obtained thumb impressions and signatures on stamp papers, and allegedly sold the girls to traffickers in metropolitan cities for large sums. The third level consisted of major agents and dance bar operators who allegedly pushed the girls into prostitution,” he said.

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A major breakthrough came on June 2, when a Navi Mumbai Police team arrived in Rajasthan to hand over rescued girls to their families. Though their documents showed them as adults, police verification allegedly found them to be minors.

Of the 10 rescued, seven are believed to be minors while one was legally an adult. The ages of the remaining two are still being verified.

“The financial arrangements uncovered during the investigation were particularly disturbing. If a girl tried to escape, her family was allegedly pressured to repay several times the money initially paid,’ an officer involved in the probe said.

Of the five arrested, Ramkanya, 53, Bhimshankar alias Bhima, 28, Ankush Karmawat, 26, Ramesh Kanjar, 55, and Sunny, 40, are from Jhalawar district. Two more accused are absconding.

Parul Kulshrestha is a Principal Correspondent for The Indian Express, based in Rajasthan. A lawyer turned journalist, she brings a unique cross-disciplinary perspective to her reporting, blending legal precision with deep social inquiry to cover one of India's most culturally and politically vibrant regions.

Expertise and Experience

Legal-Journalistic Synergy: Parul’s transition from a legal background to mainstream journalism provides her with a distinct advantage in interpreting policy, legislation, and judicial impacts. This expertise allows her to "read between the lines" of government orders and court rulings affecting the public.

Diverse Beat: With years of experience across both mainstream newsrooms and independent journalism, she has built high-level authority in several critical areas:

Nomadic Tribes & Marginalized Communities: She is recognized for her sensitive and in-depth reporting on the struggles and rights of Rajasthan's nomadic populations, often giving a voice to those outside the traditional political spotlight.

Gender & Social Justice: Parul focuses on the intersection of law and gender, covering issues ranging from women’s safety and reproductive rights to the socio-economic empowerment of rural women.

Environmental & Political Reporting: She tracks Rajasthan’s complex political landscape—including electoral shifts and bureaucratic changes—alongside critical environmental concerns like water scarcity and land use.

Academic & Professional Pedigree: Her background as a lawyer, combined with her rise to the rank of Principal Correspondent at a national broadsheet, establishes her as a senior voice in the media landscape. ... Read More

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