Friday, November 24, 2006

Girl trafficking on increase [ 2006-11-18 ]

Girl trafficking on increase [ 2006-11-18 ]

RSS BHADHRAPUR, Nov. 17: There has been further increase in the number of the Nepalese girls being trafficked across various border entry points of Nepal.Earlier, 8,000 Nepalese girls were trafficked across Indian border annually. However, this figure has increased to 12,000 annually over the past few years . This grim was revealed by the Maiti Nepal, a NGO working for the rescue of the trafficked girls at an interaction and discussion held among the chiefs of NGOs, government offices and local people.Statistics of Maiti Nepal shows that thousands of Nepalese girls are undergoing hardships including sexual exploitation in various cities of India .At the programme, Programme Officer of the Maiti Nepal in eastern region informed that the transit home at Kakadbhitta rescued 104 girls who was about to be trafficked into India, intercepted 960 girls who were heading for India, rescued 43 women victimized by domestic violence and rehabilitate 20 sex workers.On the occasion, District Justice of Jhapa, Bimal Dhungel pointed out the need to increase awareness about trafficking at the school level while tightening strict security checks at entry point.Noting that more girls are falling prey to trafficking because of rampant poverty and illiteracy, Chief senior superintendent of police Parbati Thapa said police administration is becoming active towards controlling it.Various speakers also expressed their views on the occasion.

Bars raided, 100 held

Bars raided, 100 held
Express News Service

Mumbai, November 19: A special squad of Zone 12 police conducted raids on 25 bars in the western suburbs and booked over 100 people, including bar managers and women employees under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA). They were held for violating the 9.30 pm deadline set by Mumbai Police which does not permit women to work at bars beyond the time.
“The raids were conducted after we received a tip-off that some women employees were being made to work late into nights, which is a violation of the Mumbai Police Act. We conducted the raids in different parts of the suburbs and arrested the people, 40 of whom are women,” said Shashikant Talegaonkar, police inspector heading the special squad.
The raids were conducted in Dindoshi, Kurar, Samta Nagar, Kasturba Marg, Dahisar and MHB Colony. The police, however, added that none of the women employees were bar dancers.
The police claim they checked on the bars dressed as customers before conducting the large-scale operation. “Some of our men visited the bars as customers and once it was confirmed that the bars were violating the law, we conducted the raids,” said Assistant Police Inspector S J Londhe, who was a part of the team from Ghatkopar police station.
The police added that the bar owners followed a modus-operandi. They claim the women employees would be sent out at 9.30 pm while police patrol teams went on their rounds and checked on the bars. But they would return after the police were gone.
The police also nabbed the customers who were present at the bar at the time of the raid. They were produced in the Bhoiwada court on Sunday and will be in police custody till Monday. The accused will be produced at Vikroli court on Monday.

House of horror for kids

House of horror for kids- From Bengal, enslaved trio can’t recall address
OUR BUREAU

Two of the children rescued from Delhi.

New Delhi, Nov. 20: Bruises on their bodies and trauma on their faces, the three children stare vacantly out of a dimly-lit room in a Faridabad police station. All from Bengal, they don’t remember their exact addresses, except that their village is somewhere in Midnapore.
Rescued on Saturday from the house of a local businessman, Sujata, 6, Santoshi, 8, and Sita, 12, will be shifted to Nari Niketan, a home for women and kids, in nearby Karnal.“The medical report hasn’t come in yet, but there is no doubt that these children were subjected to inhuman behaviour,” Mahipal Singh, the officer investigating the case, said.After being rescued from the businessman’s Indra- prastha Colony home in Faridabad by Shakti Vahini, an NGO, the children were handed over to the local police station.

While Sujata and Santoshi had apparently been kept in the house for “domestic work” for two years, Sita, the oldest among them, had been brought about a year back.“These are the trafficked children from Bengal. The investigation must go beyond the National Capital Region, right up to Bengal, to ascertain how and by whom, these children were trafficked,” said Jagdip Rawat of Shakti Vahini.

The case not only exposes child labour and cruelty, but also involves bonded labour as these children were kept in illegal confinement and forced to work without wages, Rawat said.
In his statement to the police, the businessman claimed he brought the children from a placement agency for domestic help in Delhi. He said he initially paid their wages to the agency, which, he claimed, stopped contacting him later. He didn’t recall its name or address.
Equally unexplained are the bruises on the bodies of the kids.

In his statement, the businessman said the injuries were caused by infighting among them, but the wounds are far too serious to lend credence to his version. The medical report is expected to throw more light.

Meanwhile, Shakti Vahini has alleged that police are showing leniency to the businessman. “The accused has not yet been arrested. Even the sections that have been levelled against him relate only to the juvenile justice act and the IPC. The laws on prevention of child and bonded labour must also be used against him,” said Rawat.

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