Law students and their teachers at a meeting with NGO representatives at Shivmandir. A Telegraph picture

Siliguri, Oct. 10: Bina Subba had given up all hopes of getting back her daughter, Julie (both names changed).

Had it not been for the five-member group of law students of North Bengal University, Bina’s life would have been an endless effort to bring her teenage daughter back home. Julie had become a drug-addict who fled her Kadamtala home some months ago to be with a few “friends”.

“Though she did not stay at home, she was in the same town. After a number of searches at her possible ‘haunts’, we finally found her at Shivmandir,” said Dipti Bhandari, a fifth-year law student. Though Julie did not know it then and even showed hostility towards the law students, the meeting saved her life.

“She did not trust us and refused help at first,” Dipti said. “She was into drugs big time. For that she needed money for which she was forced to take up flesh trade.”

To rescue her from the miserable life she had chosen for herself, the students sought police help, but with a difference. “Once we learnt where she was staying, we asked the police for informal help. We asked them to inquire about her in her neighbourhood so that she would get to hear of it and feel intimidated. And it worked!” said Gaurav Rai, another member of the group.

But the police scare had to be backed up with a fair degree of counselling. “The first step was to befriend her. After much effort, when Julie finally started listening to us, we gradually weaned her away from her world and brought her back home. It took over a month,” Gaurav said.

For Gangotri Chakraborty, head of the law department, who introduced this hands-on education in clinical legal aid, it was a success story. “Practical experience in clinical legal aid used to be confined to visiting lok adalats and court proceedings,” Chakraborty said. “From this year, we have made provisions for hands-on training for the students. We asked them to work with NGOs and handle real cases.” In this case, the students had tied up Suraha, an organisation working for distressed women.