MUMBAI, July 23: A 16 year-old girl was allegedly burnt to death by a brothel keeper at Bhandup on Sunday because she refused to take to prostitution.

The body of the victim, Gauri Meena Nadar, was found by local residents from the brothel near Sonapur Dargah Road. After the postmortem, her body has been kept at the Rajawadi hospital at Ghatkopar. It will be handed over to her parents who are yet to arrive from Salem in Tamil Nadu.

According to sources, Gauri was lured to Mumbai from her hometown by some pimps with the promise of a job. Instead, she was sold to the brothel owner.A local resident said, ``The brothel owner used to constantly pressurise Meena to take to prostitution. When she did not yield, in a fit of anger he doused her with kerosene and burnt her.''

Deputy Police Commissioner (Zone VI) Sanjay Barve said, ``It is difficult to say whether the death was a suicide or a murder.'' He added that the police are investigating the matter, and that the real culprit will be nabbed. He stressed that her body will be handed over to nobody but her parents.

However, Savdhan, an organisation working for the betterment of commercial sex workers, has accused the police officials of negligence.

Vinod Gupta, a Savdhan activist, told Express Newsline, ``They initially refused to register the case. An imposter named Mutuswami, who claimed to be Meera's brother, wanted the custody of her body. "However, we apprised the police of the fact, and it was only then that they agreed to register the case,'' he said.

When asked to comment on the issue, former Deputy Municipal Commissioner G R Khairnar, said, ``It is an established fact that girls are sold to brothels at Bhandup for a price ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 40,000. '' He added that in areas like Bhandup, it is very difficult to carry out rescue operations.

``We usually gherao three to five buildings at a time and search for victims. But Bhandup is very congested, and it is not possible for us to rescue girls even with the help of the police.''

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.