The Pune police, however, say they are not aware of this new “trend” in exploitation of minor girls. “This is the first time I’m hearing of it. We’ll look into it,” says Inspector at Faraskhana police station V T Pawar.

Quite unlike them, the Andhra Pradesh police say they are aware of the development. “Many victims from Andhra have told us that they were given tablets — mostly estrogen — to fasten onset of puberty,” says Sumita Badugula, Superintendent of Police, Andhra CID.

Activists add that the use of growth hormones shouldn’t come as such a surprise as transvestites have been using them for years. “It’s a market-driven development that transvestites are giving way to minor girls as clients for hormone therapy,” says Tejaswi Sevekari, director of Saheli. She adds that they had had one such case referred to them.

With or without the hormones, the outlook isn’t good for Pune. S Umapathi, Inspector General of Women’s Protection Cell, Andhra Pradesh, says traffickers from the state have strong nexus with agents in Pune.

“Hundreds of girls aged between 10 and 13 from 25 talukas of three districts — Cudappah, Ananthpur and Chittoor — are being sold for Rs 30,000 each, going up to Rs 70,000, if they are from certain tribes like Lambada, for their beauty. While we have no clear figure, the fact that 122 such minors were rescued in 2007 is telling. A few hundred of these girls are in Pune brothels,” he says.