Friday, February 11, 2011

Human trafficking racket with tentacles in your house - The Times of India



NEW DELHI: An exemplary act of courage by a 20-year-old woman, a resident of Jharkhand, has helped Delhi Police to bust one of the most organized human trafficking rackets operating in the capital.

Even as four men were arrested, cops claimed in the past two years at least 45 girls from Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam were brought to the capital after being sold in their home states for as little as Rs 15,000-20,000. They were promised "respectable jobs" as maid servants and customer care executives, only to be resold in the city at double the price the agent paid their relatives.

The Union ministry of home affairs has now asked all states and union territories, especially Delhi, to form an antihuman trafficking unit to curb such activities. "We have asked the ACP of each of the district investigating units (DIUs) to lead the unit in their respective district. The crime branch will act as the nodal agency to curb trafficking in the capital,'' said a senior crime branch officer.

"During investigation, it was revealed the accused used to exploit these poor and undernourished girls. Some were sexually abused by these traffickers before being placed in residences of businessmen and traders. The girls were told to hand over most of their income to the accused and even steal on their behalf,'' said H G S Dhaliwal, DCP (south).

He, however, clarified that so far no one was known to have been "sold off" to brothels or forced into sex trade. "The physical abuse of these girls was confined to these traffickers,'' added Dhaliwal.

The accused have been identified as Saleem (32), Sumeer (38) and Sanjit (28), all residents of Simdega district of Jharkhand, while the fourth accused Pinku is a resident of Ranchi. The main accused, Jai Ram, who visits several districts across the five states and speaks in the local dialect, has been identified as the brain behind the gang. He is absconding. "So far, we have been able to rescue just two girls. Once we get Jai Ram, we hope to rescue more women,'' said the DCP. Sources claim over 100 such women are expected to be present in the city.

The chain of events dates back to February 2, when a PCR call was received at Police Station Defence Colony stating that some people are trying to abduct a woman in a Maruti van. "The local police immediately rushed to the spot and found a 20-year-old woman, a resident of Kuru, Jharkhand in a distressed condition.

"On enquiry, she said that one Jai Ram, who is a resident of her neighbouring village Chandva, had come to her parents and informed them that her elder sister whom the same person had brought to Delhi to work as domestic help was not keeping well. He requested her parents to send their younger daughter to Delhi to look after her ailing sister. On reaching Delhi, Jai Ram had sold her to three persons namely, Rajkumar, Saleem and Pinku, for a paltry sum of Rs 10,000 as she is physically challenged,'' said Dhaliwal. On February 2, she escaped by jumping out of a moving Maruti van.

Source: The Times of India
Human trafficking racket with tentacles in your house - The Times of India



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