(Image source from: YouTube)

An Indian man Adarsh Shrivastava who was traveling by Avadh Express (Train) earlier this month, came through something that made him ill at ease.

On July 5, he spotted 26 young girls, aged between 10 and 14, appearing remarkably nervous and restless. Shrivastava sensed that the group was in fuss.

Doubtful of what to do, Shrivastava tweeted his concerns: "I am traveling in Avadh express (19040). in s5. in my coach their are 25 girls all are juvenile some of them are crying and all feeling unsecure (sic)."

I am traveling in Avadh express(19040). in s5. in my coach their are 25 girls all are juvenile some of them are crying and all feeling unsecure.@RailMinIndia @PiyushGoyal @PMOIndia @PiyushGoyalOffc @narendramodi @manojsinhabjp @yogi

— Adarsh Shrivastava (@AdarshS74227065) July 5, 2018

He tagged railway authorities and officials, alerting them to the situation. Moments later he followed up the tweet by adding, "… subject to human trafficking… my current station is Hary Nagar my next station is BAGAHA and then Gorakhpur. Kindly help them out. Please help."

subject to human trafficking )my current station is Hari Nagar my next station is BAGAHA and then Gorakhpur.kindly help them out. Please help.@RailMinIndia @PiyushGoyal @PiyushGoyalOffc @PMOIndia @narendramodi @rajnathsingh

— Adarsh Shrivastava (@AdarshS74227065) July 5, 2018

His Tweets were subsequently retweeted by the Ministry of Railways, who alerted local authorities to the situation.

Nearly an hour later, plainclothes police officers entered the train – confident of what they were investigating. They found the 26 girls accompanied by two men, both of whom were arrested.

According to the Press Trust of India, all of the girls were taken into custody and questioned about where they came from.

The girls allegedly did not render police with information regarding where their place of origin, but it was later discovered they had traveled from West Champaran in Bihar, located in northeast India.

The reason Shrivastava had been alarmed was simple. Although human trafficking is illegal in India, it remains a significant problem, with at least 20,000 women and children being trafficked in 2016.

Earlier this year, according to The Daily Dot more than 1.2 million Indians took part in a march across India to protest the barbarous practice.

By Sowmya Sangam