The victim Suchitra (name changed) is said to have dropped out of school after Class 5 and had been accompanying her 40-year-old single mother to the houses where the latter worked as a maid in Semmanchery.

Two months ago, the woman’s niece Sahitha Banu (22) of Vyasarpadi requested her to spare Suchitra to take care of her two children. Believing her, Suchitra’s mother sent her to Sahitha Banu’s house.

A few days ago, Suchitra’s mother asked Sahitha Banu’s husband to bring her daughter back, but the latter refused. She then visited Sahitha Banu’s house only to find her missing. However, after she kept insisting on getting her daughter back, Sahitha Banu took Suchitra to her mother. When inquired, the minor revealed a horrific episode of how she was forced into flesh trade by Sahitha Banu and her husband Madhan.

Police said Sahitha Banu, after getting separated from her husband, was living with Madhan along with her two children from her previous marriage. “However, Sahitha Banu came to know later that Madhan is a flesh trade broker and his entire family including his mother and sister are into prostitution. Slowly, she was also pushed into flesh trade and Suchitra, who was brought to take care of her children, was also forced into prostitution,” said police.

The minor girl was also left at the mercy of Madhan’s ‘customers’, who sexually assaulted several times. He also handed over the girl to other brokers to be exploited.

Police have arrested eight suspects including six women in the case. The main accused are A Madhan (35) of Tondiarpet, his wife Sahitha Banu (22), his mother A Selvi (50) and his sister S Sandhya (23). A few more men and women have also been secured for interrogation.

The incident of minor girl having been forced into flesh trade has shocked the senior police officials and instructions have been given to police personnel to secure all the flesh trade brokers to check if they have any minor girls in their custody.