“When we are rescued, we want the law enforcement authorities to understand the trauma that we have been subjected to and to treat us with respect. After we are rescued, we are already scared of the way the society and our family would treat us. We need the officers to be sensitized to treat trafficking survivors sensitively and ensure proper support once they are rescued.”
Survivors of child trafficking, who have been victims of child sexual abuse, prostitution and child slavery appeal for a “comprehensive law” to end the abominable practice of human trafficking at the recently concluded two-day “National Consultation to Combat Human Trafficking” at The Ashok Hotel, New Delhi. The two-day national consultation was organized by Shakti Vahini with technical support from National Commission for Protection of Child Rights and in partnership with Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF), Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA), India Child Protection Fund (ICPF) and Prajwala.
In their written appeal, the survivors have sought active intervention of all stakeholders like – Government organisations, judiciary, civil society organisations, funding agencies, community groups and individuals to come together and take collective action to fight the menace of human trafficking. Besides appealing for a comprehensive law against human trafficking, the survivors have demanded their rights of having Aadhar card, Pan card, Voter card, Ration card and linkage to other government sponsored schemes. The appeal also includes engagement of trafficking survivors to utilize their experience in the fight against the menace, sufficient funding to fight human trafficking, reservation of seats in elections for people working to protect child rights and fighting against human trafficking. Additionally, the appeal includes large scale public awareness campaigns of the crime, educating all boys and men on the ill-effects of human trafficking and to recognise different forms of trafficking and its adverse impact on the victims and to ensure adequate compensation for the victims. The survivors also have appealed to frame specific laws to regulate the placement agencies who lure innocent children and women into child labour, prostitution and child slavery.
Highlighting the role of the placement agencies in human trafficking at the two-day consultation, Chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Priyank Kanoongo said, “In India placement agencies play a very crucial role in enabling cases of human trafficking. We need to reach out to the state governments to create and implement legislations for regulation of placement agencies in the country.” He further said, “We are trying to ensure that the subject of child rights is included in competitive exams in India. Every government officer should be trained in the subject of child rights.”
Appealing to Hon’ble Prime Minister, Priyank Kanoongo said, “Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has called to create Vibrant Border Villages. We will be creating villages where child rights are protected & not abused.”
Speaking at the two-day consultation, Trisha Roy, a survivor of trafficking said, “We need access to proper mental health facilities, which is not provided to us when we are rescued. We are never at fault but yet people treat us like we are the perpetrators. Every day is a challenge for us, to fight for our rights. We need speedy court trials to ensure that the traffickers were prosecuted for the crimes committed by them”.
Another trafficking survivor, Naziya Begum said, “When we are rescued, we want the law enforcement authorities to understand the trauma that we have been subjected to and to treat us with respect. After we are rescued, we are already scared of the way the society and our family would treat us. We need the officers to be sensitized to treat trafficking survivors sensitively and ensure proper support once they are rescued.”
A trafficking survivor from Bihar, Mohd, Chhotu said, “Access to proper rehabilitation schemes is very essential for us. When we are trafficked, we are continuously exploited by the traffickers. They keep scaring us about the cruel ways in which we would be treated by the police, if we would ever approach them for help. Because of these things, we always hesitate to share the trauma we were subjected to, right after we are rescued. For us having access to freedom is very important.”
The two-day consultation was inaugurated by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi along with other key dignitaries including Rupali Banerjee Singh, Member Secretary, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Rekha Sharma, Chairperson, National Commission for Women (NCW) and Sanjay Chander IPS, Director General of Police, Railway Protection Force. The national consultation saw the convergence of all stakeholders including government agencies, over 200 senior representatives of civil society organisations working against human trafficking and intensively exchanged ideas and solutions to fight human trafficking, emerging challenges posed by newer modes of trafficking including Cyber-trafficking and ensuring access to justice for victims. It emerged out of the two-day national consultation that a tough law is the need of the hour as demanded by the survivors and Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi to fight against the rising human trafficking.
For our first, Article 23 Dialogues we are joined by Shri B.K Goel, Former Member of the Haryana Commission for Protection of Child Rights. During his tenure as a member of State Protection of Child Rights, Haryana he was always in the forefront on the issues related to child protection in Haryana and also across the country.
He was instrumental in breaking several organized crime rackets who were indulging in child trafficking . Due to his efforts, Haryana has witnessed a lot of changes in its child protection mechanism. Thank you for participating in our first session.
Rishi Kant – Can you please talk about your experience in working on Human Trafficking especially in Haryana and Northern India?
Bal Krishna Goel: With respect to the ground realities of human trafficking, especially in Haryana, I would like to mention that in the period of 3 years that I was posted there, there have been a lot of changes in mindset concerning human trafficking especially among state agencies.. I used to think that there are not much cases of Human Trafficking in Haryana and thought there were other issues that required more attention. At that time, I thought Human Trafficking could take a backseat. However, what I experienced in my three years tenure, was completely different. To put it in simpler words, there is no district in Haryana that did not have a case of human trafficking. Mr. Rishi Kant would be able to connect with it better since, Shakti Vahini look into inter-state and inter-country trafficking cases and has also seen the root problems in Haryana at the deeper levels. It is even sad to state it since, Haryana is known as consumer state. The consumption of trafficking takes place in Haryana. In our state, most of the women, girls or children who are working as domestic maids brought from other states have been a victim of trafficking. I am not stating any data here because I believe that the data do not provide the real image of the situation. Because most of the time the data states that 4000 children have been trafficked, but then how come 40,000 children were rescued? This means that at some point, there is a lack in the reporting of law enforcement authorities. There are so many cases here in Haryana where children are being forced into domestic labour or bonded labour. Even we intervened in cases where girls with less than 18 years of age were forced into prostitution. There were also cases where people even tried killing these children and then we had to take support of organizations like Shakti Vahini to protect them.
Mr. Rishi Kant: It is really a big issue in Haryana especially for the children who are brought here for domestic help. In such situations the role of placement agencies come into picture. There is another major issue prevailing in Haryana at the moment, which is of Forced marriages, where girls are being sold in villages. What is your suggestion in such cases and how can Haryana look into such crimes?
Mr B.K Goel: It is a major problem in Haryana that the sex ratio in the state used to be very less. With the efforts of the state government, it is improving however, it will take its time. The factor that distinguishes Haryana from the other states is because of bride trafficking factor. It is a serious concern. In this state boys, does not get girls for marriage, because of which girls from other states are specifically sold here for forced marriages. The state government has tried stopping it. The state government in order to regulate the issue has taken stricter actions in the PNCDP Act because of which the sex ratio has been improving.
Mr. Rishi Kant: I would also like to ask your opinion on how should our country respond to fight crimes like human trafficking?
Mr. B.K Goel: Till the time Anti Human Trafficking Unit (AHTU) is not properly functioned, there can be no regulation of human trafficking crimes. AHTU is just available on the papers. Most of the times, Superintendent of Police himself does not know who is the in-charge of the AHTU. The first suggestion would be to activate the AHTU’s properly in every state, the destination as well as the source state. Secondly, the fast track system in court should be followed properly. Till the time the traffickers are not afraid of the judicial system, they will not stop committing the crime. Thirdly, public awareness is very important. It should not be the responsibility of only the organization but also the general public to ensure that such activities do not take place. If a person sees a crime happening in front of him but does not report it, then he is equally liable for the crime.
Mr. Rishi Kant: You rightly said that the AHTU should be strengthened. You yourself in your tenure has taken steps to ensure that AHTU’s function properly and effectively. I would like to ask you one more question, regarding child protection system since you have worked in the area and has also worked with the state commission. What are the problems that the child protection system in Haryana is facing and how can we as social workers can solve these problems? And the ways in which the child protection system can work with the AHTU to strengthen the survivor? Since even after the rescue the survivors face a lot of problem. What all suggestions can you give in order to strengthen the entire process?
Mr. B.K Goel: I believe in the CAT tool and have always been asking people in the child protection system to follow the tool. C stands for coordination, A stands for answer ability and T for technology. Coordination, because it is important for all the stakeholders to work with each other and assist each other. It is important for them to have coordination among each other. Answerability can be used to improve the seriousness of the stakeholders towards the crime. Technology is the biggest tool. It can be used to track the victims easily and help in their rescue. Therefore, CAT is an important tool to strengthen the child protection system. In this corona period, people who used to run away from technology also had to openly accept it and follow it.
Mr. Rishi Kant: Article 23 Dialogues is the way in which the ground realities can be brought forward. Moving on, the current situation of the COVID crisis has brought the entire world to a standstill. People are losing their jobs, having troubles at home, vulnerability has increased. What do you think, in this situation, as responders and social workers can we strengthen the law enforcement system and address such vulnerabilities as an effect of COVID crisis?
Mr. B.K Goel: It is a very important question. Like the Honorable Prime Minister in his speech mentioned that we have to create opportunities in crisis like this, so I was wondering how can we approach this thought process in the child protection mechanism. Everyone is facing trouble in this period of crisis. People are losing their jobs, they have to leave their homes, we are having flood problems as well. We are facing a situation that is beyond the control of the human being. But we also have to look at the positive aspects as well. When I talk about positivity, during this time the strengthening of the child protection mechanism at the ground level can happen very easily. During the time the lockdown was announced, many people at who had children as domestic help, asked them to go back to their hometowns. We have also seen situation where people went back to their homes walking 1000s of km. Hopefully, they will now not be trafficked again. We have not gotten an opportunity to strengthen our AHTUs by alerting them towards the whole situation. We can also strengthen the RWAs by ensuring that they should prevent any child to be placed in any home as domestic help. We also have to ensure the registration of the placement agencies. Some few days back I was reading the interview of the home minister, where he mentioned that in order to strengthen the AHTUs, they have allocated 4 crores from the Nirbhaya Fund. It shows that even the government feels that there might be increase in the rate of human trafficking cases due to the corona crisis. The state governments especially of the consumer states should ensure that no child below the age of 18 years should be forced into labour. In this aspect, the sensitization should increase. The RWA, district administrators should be duly informed and be asked to take active steps. It is a good opportunity to ensure the strengthening of child protection mechanism.
Mr. Rishi Kant: All the points you mentioned are extremely important and there is a need to strengthen the child protection mechanism. Sir, what are your final comments on Article 23 Dialogues?
Mr. B.K Goel: It is in the hands of every person that they do natural justice with everyone. It is important to follow Article 23. In this situation where we are living, families who are not privileged have to fight for survival. When we see a situation where a child is selling balloons or pens at the traffic signal, we think that by buying those things, we are helping them, this mentality is wrong. If we really want to help then we have to make an attempt to get the child out of that condition by looking into who is making them do such things rather than giving them money. If each one of us, can take the responsibility of one kid, to ensure that he gets out of trafficking and to make him capable, with that effort only trafficking can be stopped.
Mr. Rishi Kant: Thank you so much for talking about the problems that exist at the grassroot level. It is important for all of us to take your suggestions to take into consideration.
The compensation, to be given by the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA), is to be handed over within ten days of the order.
In a landmark judgment, the Calcutta High Court Monday ordered the state to pay compensation to a trafficking victim even as investigation is ongoing and trial is yet to begin. Justice Rajshekhar Mantha observed that the victim of a crime has the right to receive compensation notwithstanding the result of criminal proceedings.
The compensation, to be given by the State Legal Services Authority (SLSA), is to be handed over within ten days of the order.
The order was passed on a writ petition filed by the victim’s lawyer after their application for compensation was turned down by both the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and SLSA. The victim was 14 years old when she was trafficked (see box).
Criminal lawyer Kaushik Gupta, who is representing the victim, said, “When the case was filed in West Bengal, it was not filed under the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act (ITPA), unlike in Pune…If it is a case of simple kidnapping, the case can be investigated by a sub-inspector. Under ITPA, the minimum rank required is that of inspector. Secondly, police stations and officers-in-charge don’t have the resources to investigate under ITPA, because for that you have to investigate the entire route — in this case from the district to Sealdah to Mumbai to Pune. The officer has to take a team with the victim’s family. Sometimes, it takes years for the cost of investigation to be reimbursed by the state. The probe is therefore limited to surrounding areas of the village from which the trafficking has taken place.
“Therefore, the investigation carried out is often inadequate, as is the chargesheet. For the lawyer to then prove the case becomes very difficult. More often than not, this results in acquittal of accused. This is a landmark order as it shifts the concept of justice from the sole purpose of convicting the criminal, to compensatory justice.’’
Justice Mantha’s order states: “The writ petitioner has been a victim of trafficking. She was identified, traced and brought back from Pune to West Bengal…The victim had filed an application under the West Bengal Victim Compensation Scheme of 2017. Such scheme came to be framed after the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, was amended to bring in section 357A in 2009.’’
It further states: “According to this law, every state government in coordination with the central government shall prepare a scheme for providing funds for compensation to victim or dependents who have suffered loss or injury as a result of the crime and who require rehabilitation. Article 38 of the Constitution obligates the State to render social justice to its citizens.
Right to receive just compensation as a victim of a crime, notwithstanding the result of criminal proceedings emanating out of the incident of crime can be read into Article 21 of the Constitution of India guaranteeing ‘Right to life’. ‘Right to life’ encompasses within its fold, the ‘Right to live with dignity’. A citizen cannot be asked to forfeit the right to live with dignity just because such citizen has become a victim of a crime. The state is obliged to protect the life and property of its citizens. The victim may or may not receive compensation in the criminal proceedings. The criminal proceedings may result in acquittal of the accused. Disposal of such criminal proceedings with a particular result does not mean that, the incident of crime did not happen or that the victim is not entitled to or requires compensation.”
The order also states: “Acquittal of the accused, ipso facto, does not mean that the incident of crime did not take place. The victim of the crime may require support, monetary and otherwise to mitigate the loss and injury suffered as a result of the crime. The victim may require rehabilitation.”
Justice Mantha observed that the victim must be compensated under section 357A as her fundamental rights under Article 21 (Right to life) have been violated. “Denial of compensation to such victim would continue such violation and perpetrate gross inhumanity on the victim…This cannot be the object of section 357A and the 2017 scheme…I therefore hold that both requirements the accused not being identified or traced as also that the trial should not have commenced, need not be satisfied for entitlement of compensation…,” stated the order.
The Calcutta High Court also directed that the CID take on the investigation.
National Commission for Women (NCW) member Sushma Sahu on Wednesday requested Union minster for women and child development Maneka Gandhi to order a probe into the functioning of all government short stay and children homes being run by the NGOs and mentioned in the social audit report of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.
Sahu, who met Maneka in Delhi on Wednesday, told TOI over the phone that she also sought the minister’s intervention for justice to the minor girls, who had allegedly been raped and physically abused during their stay at Muzaffarpur children home and other government shelter homes in Bihar and mentioned in the TISS report.
The TISS report about alleged rape of minor girls at Muzaffarpur children home led to the arrest of nine accused, including seven women. The arrested persons also include Brajesh Thakur, the proprietor of NGO Seva Sankalp Ewam Vikas Samiti, which was running the children home.
Sahu said when she apprised Maneka of the pitiable conditions in government homes mentioned in the TISS report, the minister immediately called a top ministry official and asked him to provide her all the details and developments on the issue from Bihar.
Sahu said she also wrote a letter to the ministry to order the state level officers for fresh medical examinations of the minor victims. Sahu had visited the children home at Muzaffarpur on June 9. She said the girls were virtually kept in captivity inside crammed rooms. She had raised her suspicion over a door connecting the girls’ room with a printing press located just beside the children home. The press is also owned by Thakur.
A 17-year-old girlwas raped by a businessman in his house in central Delhi’s Karol Bagh on Tuesday afternoon. The girl worked there as a maid and nobody was at home during the incident, said the police. The businessman, who had allegedly molested her earlier as well, has been arrested.
The police were informed about the incident by the girl’s father who got to know about it from his wife. They also informed an NGO, whose members came to the police station along with the survivor’s family. The girl was soon taken to a hospital for treatment, cops said. The accused, identified as Kapil Bhatia (40), owns a store in Kashmere Gate, cops said.
The girl told the police that she had been working at the house for over six months and there were people at the house every time she had gone for work. On Tuesday, however, there was nobody apart from Bhatia. When the girl was about to leave, Bhatia called her to his room and raped her. She said the man had molested her several times earlier but threatened her into silence.
Police said the girl was produced before the child welfare committee (CWC) following which a case under Sections 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 376 (punishment for rape) and 377 (unnatural offences) of IPC, and also under POCSO Act and Juvenile Justice Act was registered. The survivor has been sent to a children’s home on the order of CWC.
The police raided Bhatia’s house on Tuesday night itself and caught him while he was trying to flee. Cops are also trying to find out if he had sexually assaulted any other girl.
Children living on the streets are the most vulnerable group of the society, regularly exploited by criminals for committing crimes near railway platforms. The revelation was made during a recent investigation of a case, where a criminal was arrested for recruiting teenagers to commit petty crimes. According to a senior police official, on June, one Sunil Bihari from Pandav Nagar was arrested for running a gang comprising children for committing petty crimes, such as pick-pocketing, theft and snatching.
During investigation, the children were found to be living on the streets, picking rags from different railway stations. The accused used to lure them on the pretext of easy money. Police said that the arrest was made by team of Crime Branch, and the accused told investigators that the gang is operating across the Delhi-Mumbai railway network. Cops added that the gang members are also involved in drug trafficking.
“Usually, the accused would recruit teenagers in his gang to commit crimes in moving trains and in the area around platforms,” police said. Recently, Shahdara district police had busted another gang that trained kids for committing crime in the Capital. Police arrested six persons in the case. An investigator claimed that they found that seven members of this large gang were recruited by the kingpin when they were minors. “The gang used to target children from areas where parental supervision was far less. During further investigation, we came to know that the accused also hired street children, as we found that a 17-year-old member of the gang was a street child,” said the police official. The Standing Operating Procedure, formulated by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, states that most of street connected children are vulnerable to emotional, physical and sexual abuse, due to lack of secure shelter and adult supervision. Children on the streets are often called ‘hidden children’, as they have no concrete identity. Being hidden, they are at a higher risk of being abused, exploited and neglected.
“Well, if we don’t recruit children from Assam, they will get into more trouble, as who will then feed them? By working for us, at least they get to eat properly,” came a sympathetic response from a villager in Kimin block.
As part of a team studying human trafficking in our state, I visited Kimin block in Papum Pare district, due to its close proximity with Assam, in the winter of 2017. Another part of our team in Assam had informed us that almost 80 percent of the local children (from the tea tribes) are recruited in Arunachal Pradesh as domestic help, agricultural labourers, daily wage labourers, and as unskilled labour force. These children are spread across the districts of Arunachal Pradesh, with a major concentration in the capital complex.
In Kimin block, these children were present in hundreds. A few made the transit every day from work in the tea gardens while most others were employed in the capacity of domestic help in the houses of the towns. Ranging in the age group of 6 to 14 years, these children had come to be employed for meagre salaries between Rs 500 to 1500 per month, ie, Rs 16 to Rs 50 per day. While the salary rates differed in the capital complex, the statistics of prevalence remain the same.
According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), “child labour” is often defined as work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential, and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development. It refers to work that is mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children and interferes with their schooling by (a) depriving them of the opportunity to attend school, (b) obliging them to leave school prematurely, or (c) or requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work.
In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses, and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age.
Child labour is engaged in the agriculture, industries, and services sectors. The worst forms of child labour are sale or trafficking, pornography, debt-bonded labour, and child soldiers.
“It is not just the Assamese children; even local tribal children from the villages come to study in the towns and often stay with their relatives. However, they do not do much studying as they become cheap labour for their relatives in return for food and shelter,” said one a school teacher when I asked about the migrant children in their town.
“They wake up the earliest, finish all the work first, and then come to school. After school, they go back and do whatever their relative asks of them at that time. Thus, we have to take longer classes so that most of these children finish their homework in the school itself, as we know most of them won’t get to study at home,” added another teacher.
According to the ILO, globally 152 million children between the ages of 5-17 are child labourers, of whom 73 million are engaged in hazardous work. Based on the 2011 census, India has 5.6 million child labourers. Laws and legislation are in place to fight against these practices, but it requires collective and integrated efforts in ending child labour and promoting safe and healthy work for young people.
“It is quite difficult to find ‘bontis’ (domestic helpers) these days,” my uncle proclaimed the other day.
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, you have to pay the person who brings the bonti, the person who finds the bonti, the person who made the connection between the first two people, and the bonti’s family. Too many payments have to be made for just one bonti.”
The increasing numbers of child labourers (CL) in Arunachal Pradesh need an urgent introspection on the capability and wellbeing of the future pillars of the nation. Our dailies have reported a couple of cases of physical, emotional and sexual abuses of CL. Diverse perspective and assumptions float when we discuss child labour. Are we shaping CL or slashing their future? How can we stop this inhuman practice in our state? Can they have books instead of tools in their young hands? These are some of the questions that bother us.
On 12 June, 2018, the ILO celebrated the World Day Against Child Labour (WDACL), focusing on the need to end child labour and ensure safety and health of the young workers.
What is required in our state is a culture to stop engaging child labourers in our homes, hotels and other places as apprentices, janitors, babysitters, farm a hands, mining workers, and so on. Imagine the future and wellbeing of these young minds, denied education and childhood (freedom, pleasures, play, and socialization). We have failed to provide free education, childhood, and freedom in their impressionable ages.
We need to envision the future wellbeing of our children, where they grow up with capability and function as self-reliant persons. In order to achieve it, we have to give the best opportunities to our children. The laws have to be followed in their true spirit, and livelihoods of parents and family members should be secured, thereby helping prevent child labour. Not an easy task at all, but not an impossible task either with collective and integrated efforts of individuals, civil society, and the state.
These pillars are essential in upholding the spirit of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1992): Survival, development, protection and participation rights of the children. (John Gaingamlung Gangmei is Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, RGU; Ronnie Nido is former research officer, National Research Study on Human Trafficking in India, TISS, Mumbai)
The bride-buying business that amounts to trafficking is burgeoning in the state where numerous girls from West Bengal were sold for sexual abuse. Even though an NCRB report claims that there is zero incident on trafficking in the Valley, the reality on the ground portrays a quite different picture, writes SAFINA NABI
Tamanna (17) and Hafiza (16) are residents of 24 South Parganas, Kolkata from the state of West Bengal. The girls were sold to two Kashmiri men, much older than them for an amount of 25,000 each. Both the men are from Tujan area of district Pulwama, around 40-km away from the main city of Srinagar, in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The girls’ parents are daily wage labourers who live in a slum under extremely poor condition. On top of that, supporting a family of seven members isn’t easy at all.
One day, the parents decided to marry off Tamanna and her sister in Kashmir after an agent Shubnam persuaded them that their daughters could lead a comfortable life and they too can earn some money in return.
Soon, these men from Kashmir got in touch with this family from Bengal through Shubnam, a native of Bengal. The sisters were informed by the family that their marriages have been fixed and both of them will be travelling to Kashmir with their husbands. The marriage happened in an informal set-up. The Nikhnama (marriage contract) was signed and both the sisters were given a small amount of money as ‘Mahr’ (alimony) for namesake.
The assurance of wealthy family, healthy lifestyle-two meals a day, and decent clothes to wear was more than everything for the girls and the family to fall into the trap. Soon, they arrived in Kashmir via Bengal-Delhi-Jammu route. Once they reached Tujan, Pulwama, their world turned upside down. The girls were kept in horrific conditions where husbands would rape them through the hours of darkness and family members would make them do all the household chores throughout the day. They were deprived of proper food and kept indoors to avoid contact with outside world. Nevertheless, the girls were in different families but experiencing a similar life of horror. The sisters were restrained to get in touch with each other.
The Escape
One day in early morning, the younger sister, Hafiza, escaped the house barefoot. Luckily, she saved the money that she received as ‘Mahr’ to use when the right time comes.
Hafiza narrated, “I was praying hard that my attempt to escape should not fail… Had I been caught, I would have been beaten to death.”
After escaping from Kashmir she managed to reach Bengal. There she met a journalist, who happened to work in Kashmir. Hafiza then narrated her ordeal and revealed the details about her sister too. The journalist contacted a Kashmir-based local NGO and informed them about the case. The NGO with the help of police started a robust investigation and finally, they were successful in tracing out Tamanna.
Today, Tamanna is living with a local family in Kashmir who came to support her. They wish to become her legal guardians now.
On May 22, 2018, Tamanna appeared before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC).
Explaining Tamanna’s situation, CWC Chairperson, Munazah said, “Tamanna wishes not to go back to her hometown neither she wants to stay in a child home. The report has been sent to the CWC, Pulwama for further investigation. Once the report comes, we will be able to decide how to take forward the case.
On the other hand, the man who bought Tamanna is now pressurising her parents to ask her to return. Her parents are now trying to persuade Tamanna to go back as she has been married to him. Although she has been rescued, no FIR has been registered against the husband’s family.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Farooq Ahmad said: “Although we are investigating the case and rescued her on the NGO’s request, but,we cannot register an FIR as she has signed the Nikahnama. Also, the trafficker has provided it as a proof of marriage.”
“During the course of the investigation, we came to a conclusion that Tamanna needs to be handed over to the NGO as the girl is a minor. She was not only married out of her wish but was also kept in an appalling circumstances,” Ahmad further explained.
Here, Hafiza is back to her home but torment has not increased. In a muffled voice, Hafiza shared, “My parents beat me continuously. They ask me, ‘why did you run away? Why did you come back? They have paid us money?’”
“What can a girl like me do apart from weeping in silence?” Hafiza added.
In the case of her agent Shubnam, she too has a similar past- trafficked to Kashmir where she was married-off to a Kashmiri family. However, she soon got separated from her husband, went back to her hometown in Bengal and married a local. Shubnam then stepped in to the business of human trade- buying and sending girls to Kashmir under the garb of employment-giver, match-maker. Being a local of Bengal, it was a cake-walk for Shubnam to target girls from poor and under-privileged families, luring them with a promise of good job, high-end lifestyle or by deceptively buying them from their families.
Bride-buying common in the Valley
The horrific brutality inflicted on these teenagers is not an isolated case. Going by some information, there are more 20 to 25 women from Bengal and other parts of mainland India who have been married-off to Kashmiri men. The kinds of grooms are those men who did not find any match in Kashmir, belong to below poverty line families or are disabled. In such situation, Kashmiri men buy brides from pimps who usually smuggle girls from West Bengal or other parts of India.
In a similar incident, twelve years ago, Naseema, 29, (now a mother of three) was forcefully married off to a Kashmiri truck driver by her parents for some amount. Today, she lives in a dilapidated house at Pampore, Pulwama, where, altogether, a total of eight members live in a tiny two-room house that serves as both kitchen and bedroom. Naseema, too, is a native of Bengal and was trafficked to Jammu and Kashmir as a bride. Her husband is a habitual drinker and largely spent all his earnings on liquor and drugs.
“I do not wish to see my parents or go back to them. They married me off to a person who was double the age of mine and sent me to a place about which I knew nothing, not even the language,” Naseema said.
Human trafficking is a $32 billion industry worldwide and agents like Shabnum are making a flourishing business by buying and selling girls to Kashmiri men who cannot find a match in the Valley.
India’s West Bengal state – which shares a porous border with Bangladesh and Nepal, is one of the hubs of human trafficking. There is a stout human trafficking connection between West Bengal and Kashmir, where families need brides for their sons who are either disabled or do not find local match to marry off their sons.
There is no check on the illegal buying and selling of young girls brought into the Valley as domestic workers and later sold as brides, neither there is any policy in place. Hence, this business is thriving with every passing day.
According to the latest (2016-2017) data by National Crime Record Bureau, there are zero cases of trafficking reported in the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
“We are not able to do anything until and unless a case will not be reported to us. There are agencies registered with us who supply domestic helpers to families in Srinagar and other parts of the state but, till now, no complaint of trafficking has been reported to us,” said Deputy Superintendent Farooq Ahmad.
मानव तस्करी के लिए बदनाम झारखंड में पुलिस की अक्षमता के कारण तस्कर आजाद हैं। दो फीसद मामलों में भी पुलिस अदालतों में साक्ष्य पेश नहीं कर पाती। नतीजतन गिरफ्तारी के बावजूद आरोपित अदालत से छूट जाते हैं। गुमला कोढ़ में खाज की तरह है। प्रदेश की तुलना में लगभग पचास फीसद मामले इसी जिले से जुड़े हैं। चौंकाने वाला आंकड़ा यह भी है कि अब तक तस्करी में जितने पुरुष गिरफ्तार किए गए उनकी तुलना में करीब पचास फीसद महिलाएं भी गिरफ्तार हुई हैं। नाबालिगों को बड़े शहरों में बंधक बनाकर प्रताडि़त करने, दुष्कर्म और उनकी हत्या के मामले आए दिन आते रहते हैं। इसके बावजूद यहां के आदिवासी बहुल इलाकों में गरीबी और बेबसी तस्करों के लिए उर्वरक का काम करते हैं। गुमला, सिमडेगा और खूंटी उर्वर भूमि है। छुड़ाकर लाए गए लोगों के पुनर्वास की मुकम्मल व्यवस्था नहीं होने का नतीजा है कि कुछ मामलों में बच्चे दुबारा इसी कतार में शामिल हो जाते हैं। तस्करी का शिकार एक एक नाबालिग पूरा दर्दनाक किस्सा है।
सीआइडी के पास मौजूद आकड़ों के मुताबिक पिछले पांच वर्षो में मानव तस्करी के 395 मामले दर्ज किए गए। इनमें 152 पुरुष और 74 महिलाओं सहित कुल 226 तस्करों को गिरफ्तार किया गया। शर्मनाक स्थिति यह कि महज छह-सात मामलों में ही पुलिस दोषियों को सजा दिला पाई है। अन्य जमानत पर छूट गए या साक्ष्य के अभाव में बरी हो गए। छूटने के बाद भी ये तस्कर मानव तस्करी के धंधे में लगे हैं। राज्य में महज नौ एएचटीयू :
मानव तस्करी पर अंकुश लगाने के लिए राज्य में वर्ष 2011 में एंटी ह्यूमन ट्रैफिकिंग यूनिट (एएचटीयू) का गठन किया गया था। राज्य में 24 जिले हैं मगर सिर्फ नौ मे एएचटीयू का गठन किया गया। गुमला नगर थाना, सिमडेगा नगर थाना, खूंटी नगर थाना, दुमका नगर थाना, राची कोतवाली थाना, पश्चिमी सिंहभूम के चाईबासा सदर थाना, लोहरदगा सदर थाना व पलामू सदर थाने में एएचटीयू का गठन हुआ। नतीजा है कि कई यूनिट मे समीप के जिलों के मामले दर्ज किए जा रहे हैं।
रेस्क्यू पीड़ितों के लिए पुनर्वास की व्यवस्था नहीं :
रेस्क्यू कर लाई गई नाबालिग व बालिग लड़कियों के पुनर्वास, मॉनीट¨रग की उचित व्यवस्था नहीं है। मजबूरन वह दोबारा इस दलदल में उतरने को मजबूर हो जाती हैं। वर्ष 2012 में पंचायत सचिव को गाव से बाहर कमाने जानेवालों के रजिस्ट्रेशन करने का निर्देश दिया गया था। मगर हो नहीं रहा।
ये हैं राज्य के कुख्यात तस्कर :
राज्य के बड़े मानव तस्करों के रूप में पन्ना लाल, बाबा बामदेव, रोहित मुनी, प्रभा मुनि, सुरेश साहू, गायत्री साहू, पवन साहू व लता लकड़ा जैसे कई नाम कुख्यात हैं।
किस जिले में कितनी प्राथमिकी :
गुमला 186
खूंटी 50
दुमका 12
सिमडेगा 71
राची 11
चाईबासा 26
लोहरदगा 33
पलामू 01
कहां से कितनी गिरफ्तारी :
गुमला 59
खूंटी 31
दुमका 08
सिमडेगा 43
राची 04
चाईबासा 06
लोहरदगा 21
पलामू 02
‘पुलिस मामले दर्ज करती है, आरोपितों को गिरफ्तार करती है। लेकिन पीड़ितों और परिजनों की ओर से कोर्ट में मजबूती से सामना नहीं किया जाता। इस वजह से दोषी बच निकलते हैं। पुलिस बेहतर साक्ष्य प्रस्तुत कर सजा दिलाने का प्रयास करती है।’
काजीमोहम्मदपुर थाना क्षेत्र के सादपुरा इलाके से युवती की मानव तस्करी मामले को लेकर तीन दिनों तक चले हाइवोल्टेज ड्रामा के बाद पुलिस ने बुधवार को आरोपित युवक फूलबाबू को जेल भेज दिया।
काजीमोहम्मदपुर थाना क्षेत्र के सादपुरा इलाके से युवती की मानव तस्करी मामले को लेकर तीन दिनों तक चले हाइवोल्टेज ड्रामा के बाद पुलिस ने बुधवार को आरोपित युवक फूलबाबू को जेल भेज दिया। उसकी मां और भाई को हिरासत में लेकर कई प्रमुख बिंदुओं पर पूछताछ की जा रही है। आरोपितों के खिलाफ पीड़िता की मां ने मानव तस्करी करने का आरोप लगाते हुए प्राथमिकी दर्ज कराई थी। लापता युवती को फारबिसगंज से पुलिस ने बरामद किया। वहीं से आरोपित को भी गिरफ्तार किया गया था। बरामद युवती को बुधवार को कोर्ट में बयान दर्ज कराने के बाद मेडिकल जांच कराया गया। इसी आधार पर आगे की कार्रवाई करने की कवायद में पुलिस जुटी है। इधर, पुलिस की प्रारंभिक छानबीन में मामला प्रेम-प्रसंग का बताया जा रहा है। आरोपित के परिजन ने युवक और युवती की शादी का प्रमाणपत्र कोर्ट में पेश किया है। पुलिस का कहना है कि युवती के बयान पर ही सबकुछ निर्भर करता है। उसी के बयान पर आगे की कार्रवाई की जाएंगी। अभी फिलहाल मामले की तहकीकात की जा रहीं हैं। बता दें कि युवती के घर से लापता होने के बाद इलाके में जमकर हंगामा हुआ। आरोपित के घर का घेराव कर लिया गया। थाने पर भी दोनों पक्ष आपस में भिड़ गए थे। इलाके में तनाव व्याप्त हो गया था। वरीय अधिकारियों ने मौके पर पहुंचकर किसी तरह मामले को शांत कराया था। पुलिस फोर्स को गश्ती बढ़ानी पड़ी थी। तीन दिन बाद आरोपित के जेल जाने पर मामला पूरी तरह शांत हुआ।
Mr. Rishi Kant: It is really a big issue in Haryana especially for the children who are brought here for domestic help. In such situations the role of placement agencies come into picture. There is another major issue prevailing in Haryana at the moment, which is of Forced marriages, where girls are being sold in villages. What is your suggestion in such cases and how can Haryana look into such crimes? 
HUMAN TRAFFICKING INDIA 