When Vidyaa Ramkumar, Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Puducherry, received an anonymous tip-off on 7 February, she swung into action. A 12-year-old girl was being sexually abused by a 66-year-old French national, she was told. When she reached the residence of Thierry Gagner, a man who has marketed himself as an activist and saviour, she realised she had made it just in time.

Thierry had his bags packed, and was ready to flee India, Vidyaa tells The News Minute. An alert Vidyaa immediately called the police, who arrested him and booked him under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.