Mumbai: A sessions court convicted and sentenced a 38-year-old mother to 10 years imprisonment for trafficking her 17-year-old daughter for the purpose of sex work, noting that her actions warranted no leniency. She was also charged with seven-year terms for violations of the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and three years under the Juvenile Justice Act. The court ordered these sentences to run concurrently. The judgment concluded, “The mother’s love knows no law, no pity, and it breaks down everything that comes in its path. A mother who gives birth, nurtures, nourishes the child and protects the child from all the cruelties of the world. But when a mother pushes the child into the cruelties of the world, the child loses every hope of life,” additional sessions judge Neeta Anekar said on Tuesday. Two other co-accused, Sonam Mewalal and Naida Shaikh, were acquitted of all charges. The court ruled that mere presence at the scene or accompanying the primary accused did not equate to criminal conspiracy or abetment, noting that the prosecution failed to prove they had any share in the transaction or control over the victims.The investigations began in Aug 2021 when an NGO alerted Malad police to a woman operating under the alias Sabina. A sting operation culminated at a restaurant in Malad (W). Cops told court that the accused mother arrived at the venue accompanied by two other women and two young girls. One of these girls was her own daughter, who was then a 17-year-old. Following a pre-arranged signal from the decoy, the accused were arrested and since then, has been in jail. During the trial, the prosecution’s case faced a significant hurdle when the daughter, testifying as a victim, attempted to exonerate her mother. She claimed they had gone to the restaurant for a job interview and that she had never seen money change hands. However, the judge noted that the presence of the exact marked currency notes in the mother’s purse, verified against a pre-trap photocopy, rendered the defence’s “interview” narrative implausible. The judge also relied on a forensic science laboratory report which matched the mother’s voice to the recorded phone negotiations.
