Anson Thomas (54), a Keralite from Ranni in Pathanamthittadistrict, was born and brought up in the city of Mumbai, represented Mumbai inthe National Hockey tournament, donning the role of the team Goalkeeper andlater played for Indian Customs team as a goalkeeper after joining the elitedepartment.
However, Anson is known among the traffickers, who savedgirls from the red light area of Mumbai and Delhi, and helped them move aheadin their lives.
The reputed goalkeeper had already rescued more than 800girls from the captivity of brothels, risking his life from goons and bouncerswho used to guard these brothels.
Anson reminiscences, "A girl who was not more thantwelve was drugged by an elderly couple at Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu and broughtto Mumbai and sold in a red light area. I came to know that a brothel wasfunctioning there and went inside as a customer, I paid money and was sent intoa room with tin partition and I found this small girl and as I couldn't enterinto a conversation with her, I came out citing the dirtiness of the place andthe next day I conducted a raid with the help of the police."
He adds, "When we conducted raids inside the brothelwe could find a tunnel inside a room and fifteen girls were holed up there, whowere drugged and brought to the brothel from various parts of the country andfrom abroad like Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka".
Anson Thomas has now taken voluntary retirement and is nowdoing social work full time. He had taken the cricketing greats like formerAustralian captain Steve Waugh, Ian Bishop, Harbajan Singh, Adam Gilchrist andmovie star Suneil Shetty to the red streets and made them play gutter cricketwith the children born here.
The former customs officer said that the presence of thesecricketing greats had a remarkable effect on these children and many who wouldhave become either pimps or bouncers joined educational institutions, playedcricket and have become professionals in life.
Anson said, "Indeed this is the golden moment of mylife, the girl from Cuddalore is now settled in life and now stands on herfeet. I received the prestigious CNN award with a cheque of Rs 5 lakh and Idonated this money to a girl from Nepal whom I had rescued, but sadly shepassed away as she had contracted the deadly HIV disease while in the redstreet."
The former Hockey player said that he was saved from thegoons, bouncers and even policemen by the will of god and he always holds aBible in one hand whenever he enters a brothel to save the girls.
He said that he was accused of extortion, conversion andseveral other charges and he said, "There is no Christian, Muslim, Hinduor anything like that. I had told my critics that you save a Christian girlfrom a brothel and make her a Hindu or a Muslim, I don't mind, I want her to besaved and lead a peaceful life like others."
Anson is producing the movie "Pledge to Protect"and is also playing his character. Other prominent names in this Hindi flickwhich will hit the screens across the country in a couple of months are GovindNamdeo, Sunil Pal and Ganesh Yadav.
The 54-year-old former Customs officer said, "I ammaking this movie not for money or for fame, I want a full stop to Human trafficking,the modern day slavery and to reach a wider audience through a movie. This willbe screened not only in Hindi but also abroad and I know that this dirtybusiness will stop if someone decides to work for it and I think that I ambeing sent by god for this mission."