Islampur, Jan. 7: A 20-year-old woman escaped from a brothel at Bishanpur in Kishanganj district, Bihar, and reached the Kochadaman police station yesterday.

Sources in the Kishanganj police said the woman had been admitted to the district hospital for treatment as well as medical examination. She is a resident of Goolapara in Dhubri district of Assam.

The subdivisional police officer of Kishanganj, Robish Kumar, said the woman had been lured away from home by a youth, Mohammad Danish, with the promise of marriage and a good life.

“The woman told us that Danish took advantage of her intimacy with him. She eloped with the youth and went to Siliguri. The youth sold her to a brothel in North Dinajpur’s Panditpara,” said Kumar.

When she refused to entertain the clients who visited the brothel, the woman would be beaten up and tortured. After a few weeks, she was taken to another brothel at Kochadaman in Bihar, 60km from here.

“Unable to bear the daily routine and the regular torture, she finally plucked up her courage and bolted from the brothel and went straight to the Kochadaman police station. She narrated her story to the police and pleaded for help,” said the officer.

According to Kumar, a case had been registered against the youth based on the girl’s statements.

“Whenever we try and raid the brothels, those who run them manage to give the police the slip. We are glad that this woman managed to escape. We have admitted her to a hospital for treatment as she was weak and complained of pain. We will also conduct a medical examination on her,” the subdivisional police officer said.

The woman has also informed the police that at both places, Panditpara in North Dinajpur and Bishanpur in Kochadaman, there were many minor girls who had been forced into the sex trade.

“She told us that these minor girls also wanted to escape from the clutches of those who run the racket and she requested us to help them as well,” Kumar said.

According to the woman, Danish had told her that he was a resident of Siliguri and that he had taken a liking to her and wanted to marry her and settle down with her.

Kumar said Danish was most probably a member of a gang that was involved in luring young girls into prostitution with false promises.

“These unscrupulous men are not hesitant to push innocent young girls and even minors into the flesh trade,” said the officer.

“We are looking into the matter seriously and we have already contacted the North Dinajpur police as well as the Dhubri police,” he added.