Thursday, May 31, 2012
ALWAR: The rampant practice of girl trafficking is pulling down an already declining sex ratio in the Dholpur district. In the absence of girls for marriage, residents have now taken to abduction and trading of girls from other states.
Several cases have been registered by the police in the past two months where girls from states such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and Chattisgarh were brought and sold off.
Rahul Prakash, former superintendent of police in Dholpur said "Due to the skewed sex ratio, there are not enough girls in the district; as a result, men have to look out for brides. Lack of basic infrastructure, no education facilities and a dismal law and order situation prevent parents from getting their girls married in this region. This has forced people to get into the business of human trafficking."
As per the Census 2011, the district has 845 girls against 1000 boys, a marginal improvement from 827 girls in the 2001 census.
"There is hardly any girl child left in some specific tribes in the district because of the practice of female feticide. To keep the family tree growing, people sometimes buy or even kidnap girls. Taking advantage of the situation, several gangs have become active in girl trafficking in the past one or two years. Some of these gangs keep the girl with themselves for a few months, rape her and then sell her off," said Abdul Shagir Khan, MLA from Dholpur.
In the past few years, several notorious dacoits have been killed or surrendered. Those who have survived have now joined in the human trafficking business. "Things have changed a lot in recent years. Many dacoits from ravine have joined the mainstream. Lacking in vocational skills and with a criminal bent of mind, they are now getting involved in trafficking. These gangs are growing and spreading to other areas," said Ramavatar Gujjar, a dacoit who surrendered in 2008.
Bride trafficking rampant in Dholpur district
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Raiganj, May 10: A 12-year-old North Dinajpur girl who had been forced to marry an Uttar Pradesh man twice her age by her parents sneaked out of the house on the day she was supposed to be taken to the north Indian state and sought a neighbour’s help. Police and the district child welfare committee rescued the girl, a resident of Gouripur village, 36km from Raiganj, and put her in a government home. Her parents, who took Rs 40,000 from the groom’s family for the marriage, have fled while her husband, his aunt and grandfather have been arrested. Haren Barman, the neighbour whose help the girl sought, said: “Around 1pm yesterday, she came crying to my house. She said she fled from her house when her parents, husband and his relatives were preoccupied with some work.” Barman said everybody in the neighbourhood loved the girl. “She is very adorable. Her parents stopped sending her to school after she completed her primary education. About a month ago, her father Narayan Roy decided to marry her off. He said the groom was from Uttar Pradesh,” Barman said. He said some villagers tried to reason with Roy, a farmer, not to marry off his under-age daughter. “At first, he refused to listen. Later, he said the groom’s family had pledged to give him Rs 40,000. He said if we paid him the same amount, he would not marry off his daughter. But we are poor farmers, how can we arrange for so large an amount?” Barman said. On Monday, the girl was married off to the 24-year-old youth from Aligarh. The wedding was held at Roy’s house. “The girl showed courage in escaping from home. She told me she had been forced to marry by her parents. I informed Kaliaganj police station and the district chairperson of the child welfare committee (CWC),” Barman said. CWC chairperson Sunil Bhowmick said he had met the girl at the government home. “She told me she wanted to continue with her studies. She said she was afraid.” Bhowmick said migrant labourers from Bengal “sound out” acquaintances in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and other states about prospective brides back home. “Often, many girls are lured away on false marriage promises. I have requested the district administration and the police to probe into such trafficking rackets,” he said. Bhowmick said a CWC and police team rescued the girl around 6pm last evening. “We have admitted the girl to the child welfare home in Raiganj. She will stay there and we will take care of her studies,” he said. The additional superintendent of police (headquarters), Amlan Ghosh, said: “We have arrested the groom, Nabkush Singh, his aunt Gayetri Devi and grandfather Kanhai Rajbhor. The parents of the girl are absconding.” Police sources said the trio had been booked under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, which entails a punishment of two years in jail and/or a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The three were today remanded in judicial custody for 14 days by the chief judicial magistrate’s court here. |
Minor flees clutches of groom
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The glossary of abusive words has increased with a new entrant, ‘paro’. The word ‘paro’ is well known today in regions like Haryana, Punjab , western Uttar Pardesh and Rajasthan. As with so many derogatory words, paro comes from the degrading and disparaging attitude of men towards women: it means ‘woman who is purchased for a few bucks’, ‘paro’ are those girls who are bought and brought from eastern Uttar Pardesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and Bengal to compensate for the shortage of shortage of women of child bearing age. She is not a prostitute in open terms, but her levirate marriage today means that it is not only after the death of her husband that his younger brother takes his place, she is also obliged to have sexual relations with his brothers while her husband is still alive. How can it be appropriate to call a woman living like this a ‘wife?’
‘Paro’ is an exact and true example of Catherine McKinnon’s definition of the relation of the two major sexes, “man fucks women: subject verb object”. This kind of only example in Indian classical texts, is Draupadi (A character in the epic of Mahabharata who had pandavas— the five brothers as her husbands. The five brothers had their separate wives too.) Visit any region of Haryana and you will find Catherine’s definition to be true. In spite of this widespread and increasing practice, there is no wide or authoritative research in this field available, but scattered information and data do draw a sketchy picture of the situation. From field and animal husbandry to so called ‘women’s work’ a woman is expected to do it all as ‘her duty’, and you can imagine if women who are brought as legal wife with a huge dowry has to do all these what happens to those who are bought and brought from far away
This may not directly be a case of human trafficking but indirectly it is! And it’s very serious violation of women’s most basic human rights. Our radical organisation ‘Empower People’ is researching this situation now. Before completion of this research it will not be appropriate to say anything conclusively. But already some of the examples we have found underline the seriousness of the situation. One man who is held in very high regard in his society for being vocal against female foeticide and gender inequality, agreed to speak to me and when I got closer, I found that he has two sons and no daughter, wife and his widowed mother take care of agro & domestic chores and this man has took to social service.
This may not directly be a case of human trafficking but indirectly it is! And it’s very serious violation of women’s most basic human rights. Our radical organisation ‘Empower People’ is researching this situation now. Before completion of this research it will not be appropriate to say anything conclusively. But already some of the examples we have found underline the seriousness of the situation. One man who is held in very high regard in his society for being vocal against female foeticide and gender inequality, agreed to speak to me and when I got closer, I found that he has two sons and no daughter, wife and his widowed mother take care of agro & domestic chores and this man has took to social service.
Paro or Molki : Perception and Causes (An unknown face)
Our research reveals that in Jaatland of Haryana is that paro or molki owning villages become the source of spreading the practice of paro horizontally as well as vertically. In the village of Kharakramji the paro were mainly from Maharashtra and in the village Shillakhedi the paro are mainly from West Bengal . We discovered that a paro who had been imported from another village then became the contact through whom other paros would be imported from her area. The ‘husbands’ of those paro or Molki are were indulging in the heinous work of dalali (Broking system) . For example, Hari Om (name changed) from Kharakramji, who did not wanted to be interviewed, but admitted with a glory that he owns a paro. He also said that he is continuously in contact with the other dalals ( traffickers or brokers) of the city. He warned us of dire consequences if we write anything about the paro or polyandry. He told us with pride that he would be bringing more paro into the village for the other unmarried and unemployed men (people) who come to him to arrange for a paro for them. A member of Panchayat of Kharakramji village admitted this fact. He told me “they import molki to satisfy their sexual needs, all the brothers take advantage of her and for the neighbours they have a bride to show”
We found that the ‘husbands’ of the paro or molki and their relatives become the agents and they are continuously in contact with the agents in Hissar, Sonipat and Jind, which epicenter of the trafficking. The agents dwell in the village itself. Sometimes they are truck drivers or the people who are continuously out-goers. A paro is sold more than once in many cases by the agents and their ‘husbands’ and the rate varies from Rs.7, 000/- to Rs.40, 000/. The paro owners also lead their neighbours and relatives from other village to a place where they can find a paro. The person for whom the paro is being bought affords all the expenses throughout the way.
Our research in the field revealed a number of reasons why women are imported into Jaatland, including the practice of polyandry, the desire for cheap labour, the fact that small landholdings and division of property, scarcity of girls, the passing of marrying age and heavy dowry. But, the irony is that on one hand men are purchasing girls and on the other graph of dowry is touching sky.
Historical evolution of Paro (molki)
Social acceptance of karewa and its prevalence can be seen in folklore and local proverbs . Also this is noticed by one British administrator, observing the practice in early 20th century onward, recorded that even where there was only one married brother, the other brothers had free access to his wife. (M. L. DARLING, the famed writer and civil administrator of this region, writing in Prosperity and Debt, first edition, 1925 reprint, South Asia Books, Delhi, 1978) an oft-repeated story of those days jocularly related even now, to show what a marital association entailed in the past, concerns a new bride who had four or five jeth or dewar All of them had free sexual access to her. After fifteen or twenty days of her marriage, the bride requested her mother-in-law to identify her husband from among them. Upon this the mother-in-law came out in the gali (street) and started to howl loudly; when asked about it she replied: " It is difficult for me to live in this house any more. I have been married for forty years, yet even now I have never asked anyone to determine the identity of my husband. This fifteen-day-old bride is already asking about her's." (Prem Chowdhry “An Alternetive to the sati modal : Perceptions of a Social Reality in Folklore” )
The story gives a peep into the popular perception of sexual exploitation as it existed in those days and the extent to which it was accepted as common knowledge. Women's awareness of this exploitation is highlighted even more directly and in a very perceptive manner in a lokgeet (folk song), not commonly heard these days, sung by a young bride. While recounting her enormous work load she is made to tackle in her in-law's house every day, the bride revealingly discloses :
“Beaten and forced to live with my brother-in-law in sin, unending house work has emaciated me, oh God!”
In another ragini (song), used for enacting a swang (local folk theatre), the theme revolves around the unwelcome advances of the jeth who forces himself on his sister-in-law and refuses to take no for an answer. The proverb originates from the earlier practice, given above, which shows the brother-in-law to have sexual access to the sister-in-law. Even the father-in-law, given a chance, was not above the sexual exploitation of his daughter-in-law. That this was customarily practiced was recorded by British officials in the late 19th century. Certain villages which need not be named, have the evil reputation of deliberately getting girls older than their boy husbands in order that the father of the latter may have illicit enjoyment of them (E. Joseph, Customary Law of the Rohtak District, Lahore, 1911).
In fact, colonial Punjab and Haryana witnessed instances of the father-in-law claiming karewa marriage with the widowed daughter-in-law in
the mid-1930s (RATTIGAN, William Henry. 1966 A digest of civil law for the Punjab, 82). From the sexual point of view these attempts may very well have been to legitimize an already existing relationship which had possibly left the widowed Bahu (daughter-in-law) pregnant. An old folktale highlights these aspects:
the mid-1930s (RATTIGAN, William Henry. 1966 A digest of civil law for the Punjab, 82). From the sexual point of view these attempts may very well have been to legitimize an already existing relationship which had possibly left the widowed Bahu (daughter-in-law) pregnant. An old folktale highlights these aspects:
A widowed daughter-in-law conceived from her sasura (father-in-law). She was deeply embarrassed about what the people were going to say. The father-in-law reacted to this by asking her to stitch him a quilt full of patches. This quilt he wrapped around himself and sat down in the front courtyard of the house. All the men and women who saw him laughed at the old man and commented on his heavily patched-up quilt. After a few days they stopped, having got used to him and his quilt. It was then that the old man said: " Look here, you woman, now it's all over. People take just a few days to get used to a thing."
The wide-scale social acceptance in the past of this level of sexual exploitation of women for the satisfaction of men has now been transformed into the current practice of buying women ‘paro’ or ‘Molki’ – women who are purchased from outside state - from West Bengal, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Pahad, Uttrakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
Cheap Labour
Where paro women are imported they work as cheap labour. They are sent to do the daily farm work while the local brides seldom go to the field. One head of a family, Ram Singh (name changed), told us, “they (the paro) do all types and all of the work, they run very fast here and there, like in the fields, home, cattle, management of water, night duty.”
He also justified paro as a result of the law on land and property ownership “the size of the land remains the same but the claimants increased generation by generation, employment is scanty, education gives nothing, then tell who will come with marriage proposals and why?”
There is no doubt that the scarcity of girls is one of the reasons behind the import of the girls from other states. However, there are mixed opinions expressed when people were interviewed. Some of them agreed that there is an obvious relationship between female foeticide and the practice of paro. As an elderly women lamented “they kill their girls and now they bring other’s here, it’s like as if our ‘Barseen’ ( a kind of green leafy weeds for cattle) supply has run out and now we are going to make sure our neighbours does too”. On the other hand, some of the people clearly denied the relationship between female foeticide and importing of Molki or paros. A social activist Deepak Chahal, told us “until now the of killing the girls has not had any effect on encouraging the practice of paro, but for the upcoming generation or in future, its worst effects will be seen”.
When we looked at the role that age may play in the paro system, we found that the owners or the ‘husbands’ are in the age group of 25 - 40 years. In the words of jeth of a paro, Suresh Kumar Kataria, “ we did not have land and employment, so the people were not coming with proposals of marriages for our son, so at last we had to bring a molki”.
Paro or Molki : An abusive word
- Female feticide : A glance on sex ratio
Table 1 , Over all Sex ratio1 (Female per 1,000 males) from 1901 to 2001
| State/ country | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1941 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 |
| India | 972 | 964 | 955 | 950 | 945 | 946 | 941 | 930 | 934 | 927 | 933 |
| Haryana | 867 | 844 | 835 | 844 | 869 | 871 | 861 | 867 | 870 | 865 | 861 |
| West Bengal | 945 | 925 | 905 | 890 | 852 | 865 | 878 | 891 | 911 | 917 | 934 |
In the year 1951 and 1981 sex ratio slightly improved in Haryana. In the same period number of girls increased to 865 and 911 respectively, in the source area.These figures show a slight difference in sex ratio between West Bengal (source area) and Haryana but not much difference occurred as it is believed. The tradition of importing girls in the region is known for the last fifty years. And as can be gathered from the above table, no much difference of sex ratio between source and destination area is observed. It is interesting to note that in 1951, West Bengal has 865 females per thousand males, whereas Haryana has much higher 871 females per 1000 males. Hence, the hypothesis that the ‘outnumbered’ girls from West Bengal compensate the declining sex ratio in destination region cannot stand before the reality. On the other hand if we compare child sex-ratio (see table below) with sex ratio it clearly shows that female infanticide is heavily practiced in West Bengal. In no way West Bengal is less patriarchal society than Haryana.
Table 2 : child sex-ratio2 (female per 1000 males) of population Aged 0 to 6 year (1961 to 2001)| State/ country | 1961 | Rank in Country | 1971 | Rank in Country | 1981 | Rank in Country | 1991 | Rank in Country | 2001 | Rank in Country |
| India | 976 | -- | 964 | -- | 962 | -- | 945 | -- | 927 | -- |
| Haryana* | Not Available | Not Available | 899 | 13 | 902 | 14 | 879 | 12 | 820 | 12 |
| West Bengal | 1008 | 3 | 1010 | 2 | 981 | 3 | 967 | 2 | 963 | 2 |
- * Haryana’s Data is available from 1971
Numbers of people in Haryana are employed with police, army and transport mostly as truck drivers who during their visits and travel to other region started marrying outside their own society. These marriages provided links for bride trade. In the beginning they started this marriage business to acquire (bonded) labourer for their booming agriculture and animal husbandry. While the poor parents married their daughters to the ‘dilliwalahs’—as they are known in Purvottar—because they did not ask for dowry. However this kind of marriage is not considered socially respectable in the source area and more often regarded as ‘thag vivah’. These marriages provided further contacts to get girls and make them adapt according to men’s want. Interesting part of the marriage is that most of the molki girls are second, third and fourth ‘women’ and the age of man are almost double that of the girl’s.
The status of molki women is quite bad in Jat Land. The cases of “Paro” have come to light from Mewat region. Two cases were reported recently from the jat land where the girls were murdered and the case got registered with the police. Media remained ignorant of the incident and reported nothing on this issue from this region. Police officers in similar way are ignorant and it is natural that the voices are suppressed in this state of affairs. It is suggested that these molki women are not satisfied and happy with their status and situation, and they have to bear all this only for the sake of their livings and due to lack of any support system. They are well aware that they are being used as a toy on use and throw basis. Therefore if they get a chance to escape they had no way other than running away from their ‘homes’ with their belongings or they would be sold to other person. This lead to maximum number of molki women to adapt to the situation they are going through since they are helpless and cannot do anything. Some of the incidents have come to light where molki woman revolted and ran away to ‘unknown’ places. It has also been seen that some of the women took to sex trade to escape from their life as molki since they were unable to return back to their ancestral home. While others became member of cheating gangs, who arranged marriages with these girls who later on fled with groom’s belongings.
This issue has regularly been reported by so-called main stream and local media. Molki’ is an exact and true example of Catherine McKinnon’s (an American feminist, scholar) definition of the relation between the two major sexes, “man fucks woman: subject verb object”. Visit any region of Haryana and you will find Catherine’s definition to be true. In spite of the widespread and increasing practice of bringing molki, there is absolutely no attention paid towards this by government or the NGOs.
From agro-field and animal husbandry to so called ‘women’s work’ she is expected to do it all as ‘her duty’, and one can imagine if women who are brought as legal wives with huge dowry have to do all these then what happens to those who are bought and brought from far away? This may not be directly a case of women trafficking under definition of ITPA but circuitously it is! It is a very serious violation of women’s most basic human rights. Our network Empower People is doing a research on this issue. Before a wide research, it will not be appropriate to say anything conclusively. But early findings suggest seriousness of the situation. In Jaatland of Haryana, molki owning villages become the source of spreading the practice of molki horizontally as well as vertically. In the village of Kharakramji molkis were mainly from Maharashtra and in the village Shillakhedi mainly from West Bengal. We found that if a molki brought from one village in West Bengal other molkis would be brought from the same village because the first molki becomes a ‘contact’ who facilitate other men to get girls from her home region. And the ‘husbands’ of these molkis work as agents. For example, Hari Om (name changed) from Kharakramji, who did not want to be named, admitted proudly that he owns a molki. He also admitted that he was continuously in contact with the other dalals of the city. He warned us of dire consequences if we write anything about molki. He told us with pride that he will be bringing more molkis into the village for other unmarried and unemployed men who come to him to arrange one for them. A panchayat member of village Safidon admitted the bare fact, “bhai swaad len ke maare molki lyavain hain, saaryan ka kaam chalya reh ar ghar main lugai dikhe ja”( brother, they bring molki for enjoyment, all (the male members) take advantage of her and for the neighbours they have a girl to show off.)
It is found that the ‘husbands’ of molki and her so-called in-laws become the agents and they keep in contact with the bigger agents based on Hissar, Sonipat and Jind, the epicentre of the trafficking. The agents dwell in the village itself. Sometimes they are truck drivers or the people who regularly go out. A molki is sold more than once in many of the cases by their ‘husbands’/agents and the price varies from Rs.7, 000/- to Rs.40, 000/ according to their beauty and sexual experience. The molki owners also lead other relatives and neighbours to a place where they can find a molki. The person, for whom molki is being bought, affords all the expenses occurred in the way.
Our work in the field revealed a number of reasons why women are imported into Jaatland. It includes, practice of karewa, for cheap labour, small landholdings due to division of property, scarcity of girls, over age and heavy dowry. It is interesting to note that on the one hand men are purchasing girls and on the Second hand, graph of dowry is touching sky.
Nowadays female feticide is a major pushing factor for this form of trafficking. Approximately there are ten million trafficked women in haryana and punjab. and it will regularly growing
Bride trafficking is one of traditional Slavery system
which has a deepliner history of the region so rescue and some other immediate
relief or any harsh law can’t change the phenomenon. It can be abolish by cultural
renaissance and sensitization of people. And we are working for the same.
Nowadays female feticide is a major pushing factor for this form of trafficking. Approximately there are ten million trafficked women in haryana and punjab. and it will regularly growing
Female feticide and Bride trafficking
Saturday, April 14, 2012
They were unwilling to go to home state Andhra Pradesh
The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed the release of 15 Andhra Pradesh women rescued from a red light area here who were opposing their transfer to their home state from a reform home in Delhi.
Setting aside the trial court's order granting their transit remand to Andhra Pradeh police, a bench of justices S Ravindra Bhat and S P Garg directed the release these sex workers.
The bench passed the order after the National and Delhi Commissions for Women, which was asked by the court to assist it in rehabilitation of these women, informed the court that there was no such scheme and it would take some time to formulate the policy.
Disposing of a petition filed by these women, the court said these women could not be kept at the home till the formulation of any scheme for their rehabilitation and ordered their release forthwith.
The women in their plea sought the court's intervention as they were forcibly removed from here despite their unwillingness to go back to their home state.
The bench accepted their plea that they are not minors and they have been settled in the national capital for last more than five years and their children are also studying here.
These women were recently rescued during a joint operation of Andhra Pradesh and Delhi Police on the direction of a court at Hyderabad.
The Hyderabad court had issued a search warrant and directed the police to present these girls on the submission of a minor girl who had escaped from the red light area here.
The minor girl had said that others from Hyderabad were also kept in confinement in the red light area. About 72 sex workers including some minor girls were rescued and except these 15, others were allowed to go home.
High Court orders release of 15 rescued sex workers
Friday, April 13, 2012
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the National Commission for Women and the Delhi Commission of Women to respond to pleas of some of the girls, rescued from a red light area, that they were not willing to go back to Andhra Pradesh.
A bench comprising of Justice S Ravinder Bhatt and Justice SP Garg directed the two associations to file their replies after talking to the girls and listed the matter for further hearing on Friday.
The 15 girls, currently lodged at a reform home, Nirmal Chhaya, after being rescued from the GB Road area, are seeking release saying they are "forcibly confined" and do not want to go back to their respective homes.
A bench comprising of Justice S Ravinder Bhatt and Justice SP Garg directed the two associations to file their replies after talking to the girls and listed the matter for further hearing on Friday.
The 15 girls, currently lodged at a reform home, Nirmal Chhaya, after being rescued from the GB Road area, are seeking release saying they are "forcibly confined" and do not want to go back to their respective homes.
These girls were recently rescued during a joint operation of Andhra Pradesh Police and Delhi Police on the direction of a Hyderabad court.
The Hyderabad court had issued a search warrant and directed the police to present these girls on the submission of a minor girl who had escaped from the red light area in Delhi.
The minor girl had said that others from Hyderabad were also being forcibly held at the red light area.
The joint operation had rescued around 72 girls and all others had been allowed to go home. The two minors were handed over to their relatives. NDTV
The Hyderabad court had issued a search warrant and directed the police to present these girls on the submission of a minor girl who had escaped from the red light area in Delhi.
The minor girl had said that others from Hyderabad were also being forcibly held at the red light area.
The joint operation had rescued around 72 girls and all others had been allowed to go home. The two minors were handed over to their relatives. NDTV
Andhra girls rescued from Delhi brothels don't want to come back home
New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI) The Delhi High Court today asked the National Commission for Women and the state unit to respond to pleas of some of the girls, rescued from a red light area here, that they were not willing to go to their native place. A bench of justices S Ravinder Bhatt and S P Garg directed the two bodies to file their replies after talking to the girls and listed the matter for further hearing tomorrow. The girls, currently lodged at reform home Nirmal Chhaya after being rescued from GB Road area, are seeking release saying they are "forcibly confined" and do not want to go back to their respective homes. These girls were recently rescued during a joint operation of Andhra Pradesh and Delhi Police on the direction of a court at Hyderabad. The Hyderabad court had issued a search warrant and directed the police to present these girls on the submission of a minor girl who had escaped from the red light area here. The minor girl had said that others from Hyderabad were also kept in confine in the red light area forcibly. The joint operation had rescued around 72 girls and except these 15 others were allowed to go home. The two minors were handed over to their relatives. The girls said that as the other were allowed to go, they should also be allowed to walk free.
Rescuing of girls from GB Road: HC asks NCW, DCW to respond
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The human trafficking agents who had sold off two young women to a brothel owner on G.B. Road here are still at large. The victims were rescued earlier this week in a joint operation by the police and a non-government organisation.
The victims, one of whom is a minor, were subjected to physical torture. They were brought to the Capital from South 24 Parganas in West Bengal on the promise of jobs as domestic helps. Both were then forced into prostitution. “The persons identified by them as local agents operating in South 24 Parganas are yet to be arrested. While it is necessary to rehabilitate the victims, it is equally important to break the entire chain through which the girls are being trafficked. All of them should be brought to book,” said Rishi Kant of NGO Shakti Vahini.
A police officer said action should also be taken against those who had kept the victims in confinement in Delhi after they were brought here.
The minor girl, who was rescued on Sunday night with the help of the young woman released from the clutches of flesh traders about a week ago, was on Tuesday produced before the Child Welfare Committee that issued directions for registration of a case against the person who brought her to the Capital. Restoring the girl to her brother, the committee said: “The child will not work, she should instead be sent to open school for education.”
Human trafficking agents yet to be arrested
Saturday, April 7, 2012
The woman, who tipped the police about the placement agency that had trafficked 20 children to work as a domestic help in Delhi, used to work with the same agency and was herself involved in trafficking children, police investigation has revealed. The police are now probing her role and are likely to arrest her as she is believed to be behind the trafficking of six of them.
After a tiff with the placement agency owner she had filed the complaint with the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which resulted in the rescue of six girls on Wednesday. The owner of the placement agency has already been arrested.
"The children who have been rescued have also identified woman as one of the traffickers. We are currently questioning her and she will be arrested soon," a senior police officer said.
The CWC had received the complaint from the woman against LG placement agency and directed crime branch of Delhi Police to investigate the matter.
On Wednesday, a team of Delhi police and an NGO raided at least eight agencies and rescued six minors from different parts of the city.
According to sources, such raids are going to intensify in the coming few days. Police said six of the 20 minors are believed to be back in their hometown.
Some of the girls who were rescued were not even being paid for the work they did. Most of the girls hail from West Bengal. The CWC in its order had also asked the police to register case against the accused placement agency under the Juvenile Justice Act and cases under relevant sections against the employers too.
The report further directed an age determination test to be conducted on all the girls at Safdarjung hospital.
There are 2,300 placement agencies in Delhi out of which 325 are registered under commercial establishment act. This registration is voluntary and not mandatory. Therefore several agencies don't register themselves.
In a related incident, the police had rescued as many as 20 boys on Wednesday from the Old Delhi Railway Station. They were brought to Delhi by traffickers on the pretext of providing better paying jobs.
Woman who tipped against traffickers is a suspect: Cops
Thursday, April 5, 2012
New Delhi, Apr 5 (PTI) Close on the heels of the shocking case of a doctor couple locking up a young maid, Delhi police has rescued six minor girls allegedly trafficked from villages in West Bengal and supplied as domestic maids by a placement agency here. The police conducted multiple raids following an order issued by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and targeted the premises of the placement agency in Chirag Delhi and houses where maids were believed to have been supplied. According to a statement by Shakti Vahini NGO, six minor girls were rescued -- two from the houses of their employers and four from the premises of the LG placement agency. The girls were today produced before the CWC which ordered that cases be registered under the Juvenile Justice Act against the employers and traffickers. In line with a CWC order, a team of crime branch and representatives of two NGOs was formed and raids were conducted yesterday. While four girls -- 13, 17 and 11 years of age -- were rescued from the premises of the agency, two sisters aged 18 and 15 years were rescued from the house of their employers where they were working since the last few months after being placed by the agency, the NGO claimed in a statement. Three of the girls had allegedly not been paid by their employers and one was sent back to the agency on allegation of theft. Most of the girls were trafficked from villages in West Bengal and the agency is allegedly run by two persons named Laxman and Rahu. The CWC directed the crime branch to produce the rescued kids before it and also asked it to produce a girl found at one of the raided houses, who did not appear minor prima facie. The CWC also directed NGO Shakti Vahini to contact the anti human trafficking unit of West Bengal to expedite the repatriation of the girls to their families. It also said that a statement of all girls should be recorded before the SDM under the Bonded Labour Act, and all six should be provided shelter and care.
6 minor girls from W Bengal rescued in capital live
Monday, February 6, 2012
JAIPUR/ALWAR: Munni Devi, the woman who was picked up by the Delhi police from Rajasthan for abandoning a two-year-old battered baby, who is admitted to AIIMS Trauma Centre, was staying in a village in Jhunjhunu district for nearly three months. She was sold off to a man here for Rs 2.5 lakh by a human trafficking gang.
Munni Devi is not an isolated case of girls being sold in the area. The two key suspects in the battered baby case- Rajkumar and Kanta Bai - have a case registered against them with the MIA police station in Alwar district.
"The case was registered in August 2010 in which both had been accused of selling a girl to someone," said a senior police officer. source
"On August 16, one Ali Akbar from West Bengal had approached the then Alwar SP Alok Vashishta claiming that he had married off his daughter Shayara to one Anees, a resident of Mia police station area in Alwar. Over a period of three years, the girl was sold to four different people. Anees first sold her to one Vikki who further sold her to Kanta Bai. The woman then sold her to Rajkumar and finally Shayara was bought by one Jagmohan. The police recovered the girl from Jagmohan," the officer said. Shayara was later produced in a court and then handed over to her father.
Rajkumar and Kanta Bai are registered as husband and wife in the complaint. While Rajkumar was arrested by the police and later released on bail, Kanta Bai had got an anticipatory bail.
Such gangs are active in Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi. Most of these girls belong to Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam from where these gangs abduct or buy them from their parents. They are either forced into prostitution or made to marry an older man.
Several first information reports (FIR) have been registered with the police across the state which point at the thriving business of selling girls for money.
In Alwar district alone, at least six cases of girls being sold had come up in 2010. Add to that, several cases that go unreported everyday.
"The masterminds behind these gangs are mostly residents of Mewat region in Rajasthan which includes Alwar district. In some recent cases, those involved in the racket have turned out to be drivers. Parents sell their girls in Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam for Rs 20,000 to Rs 50000. Then, they are brought to Rajasthan and other states including Haryana and Delhi," a senior police officer said.
The gang members marry the girls, rape them and then after some time sell them off to a buyer at a higher price.
"In some cases, it has been found that the owners of dhabas and hotel owners situated on the Jaipur-Delhi national highway play the role of mediators in selling the girls to the third party," the officer added.
Munni Devi is not an isolated case of girls being sold in the area. The two key suspects in the battered baby case- Rajkumar and Kanta Bai - have a case registered against them with the MIA police station in Alwar district.
"The case was registered in August 2010 in which both had been accused of selling a girl to someone," said a senior police officer. source
"On August 16, one Ali Akbar from West Bengal had approached the then Alwar SP Alok Vashishta claiming that he had married off his daughter Shayara to one Anees, a resident of Mia police station area in Alwar. Over a period of three years, the girl was sold to four different people. Anees first sold her to one Vikki who further sold her to Kanta Bai. The woman then sold her to Rajkumar and finally Shayara was bought by one Jagmohan. The police recovered the girl from Jagmohan," the officer said. Shayara was later produced in a court and then handed over to her father.
Rajkumar and Kanta Bai are registered as husband and wife in the complaint. While Rajkumar was arrested by the police and later released on bail, Kanta Bai had got an anticipatory bail.
Such gangs are active in Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi. Most of these girls belong to Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam from where these gangs abduct or buy them from their parents. They are either forced into prostitution or made to marry an older man.
Several first information reports (FIR) have been registered with the police across the state which point at the thriving business of selling girls for money.
In Alwar district alone, at least six cases of girls being sold had come up in 2010. Add to that, several cases that go unreported everyday.
"The masterminds behind these gangs are mostly residents of Mewat region in Rajasthan which includes Alwar district. In some recent cases, those involved in the racket have turned out to be drivers. Parents sell their girls in Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam for Rs 20,000 to Rs 50000. Then, they are brought to Rajasthan and other states including Haryana and Delhi," a senior police officer said.
The gang members marry the girls, rape them and then after some time sell them off to a buyer at a higher price.
"In some cases, it has been found that the owners of dhabas and hotel owners situated on the Jaipur-Delhi national highway play the role of mediators in selling the girls to the third party," the officer added.
Human (bride) trafficking a thriving business in Rajasthan
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Four Bangalore girls, including two minors, were rescued on Sunday from the clutches of flesh traders after a joint team of Delhi and Karnataka police conducted a raid in the red light area of G B Road. Three pimps were arrested.
The Karnataka Police received a tip-off that a 17-year-old girl was lured by a human trafficker and being taken to Delhi for flesh trade by the Sampark Kranti Express.
Working on the input and with the help of technical surveillance, a police team nabbed Venkatesh (26), on the train in Karnataka and rescued the girl.
During interrogation, Venkatesh told police that he had lured the minor on the pretext of marrying her in Delhi. “He, however, had planned to sell the minor at G B Road,” said police officer Pramod Joshi.
The Karnataka police then came to the national capital and approached local cops. A joint team of Karnataka and Delhi police laid a trap and arrested Allauddin, a 27-year-old resident of Shakarpur in east Delhi, at Shastri Park in north east Delhi.
The Karnataka Police received a tip-off that a 17-year-old girl was lured by a human trafficker and being taken to Delhi for flesh trade by the Sampark Kranti Express.
Working on the input and with the help of technical surveillance, a police team nabbed Venkatesh (26), on the train in Karnataka and rescued the girl.
During interrogation, Venkatesh told police that he had lured the minor on the pretext of marrying her in Delhi. “He, however, had planned to sell the minor at G B Road,” said police officer Pramod Joshi.
The Karnataka police then came to the national capital and approached local cops. A joint team of Karnataka and Delhi police laid a trap and arrested Allauddin, a 27-year-old resident of Shakarpur in east Delhi, at Shastri Park in north east Delhi.
“Venkatesh had planned to sell the minor to Allauddin,” said Joshi, who was also investigating into the matter.
During interrogation, the duo told police that they had further planned to sell the minor to a 45-year-old woman pimp – Jyoti, in charge of Kotha number 68 of G B Road. Police then arrested Jyoti, who trafficked girls especially from South India.
Working on another missing girl case, the joint team raided Kotha number 68. During the raid, a 15-year-old girl, who was missing from Bangalore since September 2011, was rescued. “Seeing the police, two more girls, who were forced into flesh trade a few years ago, approached for help. They too were rescued along with the minor,” said Joshi.
During interrogation, the minor told police that Venkatesh had brought her to Delhi on the pretext of providing a good job and had sold her at G B Road, where she was forced into the flesh trade after physical torture. Another of the rescued girls told the police that she was brought to Delhi by one of her acquaintances on the pretext of a holiday trip.
During interrogation, the duo told police that they had further planned to sell the minor to a 45-year-old woman pimp – Jyoti, in charge of Kotha number 68 of G B Road. Police then arrested Jyoti, who trafficked girls especially from South India.
Working on another missing girl case, the joint team raided Kotha number 68. During the raid, a 15-year-old girl, who was missing from Bangalore since September 2011, was rescued. “Seeing the police, two more girls, who were forced into flesh trade a few years ago, approached for help. They too were rescued along with the minor,” said Joshi.
During interrogation, the minor told police that Venkatesh had brought her to Delhi on the pretext of providing a good job and had sold her at G B Road, where she was forced into the flesh trade after physical torture. Another of the rescued girls told the police that she was brought to Delhi by one of her acquaintances on the pretext of a holiday trip.
Delhi cops rescue four Bangalore girls
Thursday, January 19, 2012
NEW DELHI: A large number of girls from the northeast are being regularly trafficked and forced to enter into wedlock in Haryana, the home ministry has found. Law enforcement agencies have found many such instances, specifically in Hissar district of the state.
A definite trend was noted by the home ministry which on Wednesday reviewed measures being taken by different states to combat human trafficking which takes the dimension of organized crime in the country.
It was also noted during the day-long meeting that girls from Nepal, Bangladesh and different parts of the country were often trafficked to metropolitan cities. While most of them ended up in brothels, the remaining were used by traffickers as child labourers, organ transplant donors and camel jockeys.
"We have recovered many girls from Hissar in Haryana. All of them were forcibly married after being trafficked," Assam superintendent of police Violet Baruah said after a meeting of state anti-trafficking cell officers here.
Baruah said the issue has been a major concern for Assam and such crimes have been taking place very often and happening due to the dismal sex ratio in Haryana.
Additional secretary in the home ministry B Bhamathi, who chaired the review meeting, said, "It is a major concern for us. With a view to tackling the menace of human trafficking, the ministry has undertaken a number of measures that include setting up of an anti-trafficking nodal cell to act as a focal point for communicating various decisions and follow up on action taken by the state governments."
Bhamathi said the home ministry had sanctioned a comprehensive scheme against trafficking in human beings through training and capacity building.
"It is proposed to establish 330 anti-human trafficking units (AHTUs) throughout the country and impart training to 10,000 police officers through training of trainers component," she said.
The ministry has already released Rs 8.72 crore to all states as first installment for 2010-11 for setting up 115 AHTUs. All states have received funds and 101 AHTUs are functional. Funds for 2011-12 have also been released to the state governments for establishment of 110 AHTUs.
A project on strengthening law enforcement response in India against trafficking in human beings was taken up in the home ministry as a joint initiative of the government of India and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in select states.
"The joint project has contributed towards developing of 12 very important resource books about protocols and standard operating procedures and in setting up of AHTUs," Bhamathi said.
TOI
A definite trend was noted by the home ministry which on Wednesday reviewed measures being taken by different states to combat human trafficking which takes the dimension of organized crime in the country.
It was also noted during the day-long meeting that girls from Nepal, Bangladesh and different parts of the country were often trafficked to metropolitan cities. While most of them ended up in brothels, the remaining were used by traffickers as child labourers, organ transplant donors and camel jockeys.
"We have recovered many girls from Hissar in Haryana. All of them were forcibly married after being trafficked," Assam superintendent of police Violet Baruah said after a meeting of state anti-trafficking cell officers here.
Baruah said the issue has been a major concern for Assam and such crimes have been taking place very often and happening due to the dismal sex ratio in Haryana.
Additional secretary in the home ministry B Bhamathi, who chaired the review meeting, said, "It is a major concern for us. With a view to tackling the menace of human trafficking, the ministry has undertaken a number of measures that include setting up of an anti-trafficking nodal cell to act as a focal point for communicating various decisions and follow up on action taken by the state governments."
Bhamathi said the home ministry had sanctioned a comprehensive scheme against trafficking in human beings through training and capacity building.
"It is proposed to establish 330 anti-human trafficking units (AHTUs) throughout the country and impart training to 10,000 police officers through training of trainers component," she said.
The ministry has already released Rs 8.72 crore to all states as first installment for 2010-11 for setting up 115 AHTUs. All states have received funds and 101 AHTUs are functional. Funds for 2011-12 have also been released to the state governments for establishment of 110 AHTUs.
A project on strengthening law enforcement response in India against trafficking in human beings was taken up in the home ministry as a joint initiative of the government of India and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime in select states.
"The joint project has contributed towards developing of 12 very important resource books about protocols and standard operating procedures and in setting up of AHTUs," Bhamathi said.
TOI
Northeast girls being trafficked to Haryana for marriage
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Two girls, including a minor, who were kidnapped from West Bengal to be forced into flesh trade, have been rescued from national capital's red light area, police said today.
Both girls are friends and belong to a poor family in West Bengal's 24 Paragana (South) district.
"They were brought to Delhi by their boyfriends, who hail from same village, on the pretext of marrying them but they sold them to a brothel in G B Road," said Devesh Chandra Srivastva, ACP Central District.
The girls were freed from the brothel yesterday evening, after Delhi Police received information from the West Bengal police about two girls being kidnapped and confined in the brothel, he said, adding police has obtained the photographs of the girls through email.
The raid was conducted along with the volunteers of a Shakti Vahini and the girls were freed and sent to Bapuna shelter home.
Also, on January 12 police had rescued 10 girls brought from Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh.
Some of the girls were either minor or forced into the flesh trade against their wishes. The raid was conducted in collaboration with an NGO 'Rescue Foundation'.
The managers of the brothels have been arrested, the official said. SOURCE
Girls forced into flesh trade rescued
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