Bangladeshi Teenager Rescued From Trafficking, Reunited With Parents
The rescued girl with her parents back home in her village in Bangladesh.
Pune : In a heartwarming story, a Bangladeshi teenager, who was sucked in the vortex of prostitution trafficking was finally united with her anxious parents back home after a horrifying ordeal.
“Just a few days ago, I got a call from a Bangladesh activist that the heart broken girl had been reunited with her anxious parents,” Dr Abraham Mathai, founder chairman of Harmony Foundation, a Mumbai-based NGO, which was instrumental in rescuing her told Financial Chronicle.
Fatima Mansuri, 15, (name changed to protect her identity), from a village in Khulna district in Bangladesh, left her home on her own fearing her parents after she failed in the school examination last year.
In a moment of fear and confusion, Mansuri met a woman known to her on the road, who offered to help her. But tragically that trust was betrayed, and soon she was trafficked for flesh trade across borders and landed in Naigaon in Maharashtra. Naigaon is a rapidly developing suburb in the Palghar district, adjoining Mumbai Metropolitan Region, located on the Western Railway line between Bhayandar and Vasai.
Dr Mathai, also the former vice chairman of Maharashtra State Minority Commission, said the traumatized girl was rescued from Naigaon in July 2025 through the joint efforts of the Harmony Foundation and partner NGO Exodus Road India Foundation with help of the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) of the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Police under the personal supervision of Police Commissioner Niket Kaushik. Their timely intervention brought an end to a harrowing period in Mansuri’s life and initiated the process of rehabilitation.
Dr Mathai said after rescuing her, she was kept in a government home till police officials, social workers, and her parents were contacted and all necessary paperwork completed to send her back home.
“The case exposes the harsh realities of human trafficking and the exploitation of vulnerable children,” Dr Mathai noted, adding that after the teenager’s rescue, 10 culprits were arrested and jailed.
Narrating her harrowing ordeal, Mansuri told the police that over 200 men sexually abused and exploited her over a span of three months. “Police, along with partner organizations, worked together to ensure her safety, provide necessary care, and facilitate her eventual reunification with her family,” Dr Mathai said.
“The focus must remain on the survivor’s recovery and future. No girl should ever have to endure such suffering. While we cannot erase what she has been through, we can stand united to ensure justice, protection, and healing.
“Her rescue and safe return to her parents remind us why timely intervention and dedicated rescue efforts are so vital, which reaffirm the need to remain vigilant in our fight against trafficking, so that every girl has the chance to be brought back to safety and hope,” Dr Mathai said.
“The safe return of Mansuri strengthens our resolve to work even harder against these heinous crimes. Moments like these remind us why the fight must continue with greater determination so that every girl who suffers such unimaginable exploitation can one day find safety, dignity, and their safe home.”
As this young girl begins the long journey of healing within the safety of her family, Harmony Foundation urges support groups and communities to remain vigilant, support prevention efforts, and stand together against trafficking, Dr Mathai noted.
“Only through collective awareness and action can we ensure that every child grows up protected, valued, and free from harm,” he added.
