November 5, 2013
BANGALORE: Amanat (name changed) was brought to Bangalore by a man, promising her a beauty parlour job. Once in the city, she was forced into a brothel. When cops rescued her, Amanat thought better days were near. But in less than 24 hours, the girl, who doesn't appear to be a major, was packed off to Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara. Worse, she was named an accused in a flesh-trade racket.
November 5, 2013
BANGALORE: Amanat (name changed) was brought to Bangalore by a man, promising her a beauty parlour job. Once in the city, she was forced into a brothel. When cops rescued her, Amanat thought better days were near. But in less than 24 hours, the girl, who doesn't appear to be a major, was packed off to Central Prison, Parappana Agrahara. Worse, she was named an accused in a flesh-trade racket.
Karnataka is turning out to be a hotspot of human trafficking, reporting the third highest number of cases in the country during 2009-12. Home ministry data says 1,379 human trafficking cases were reported from Karnataka in the four-year period. Tamil Nadu leads the table with 2,244 cases and Andhra Pradesh snapping at its neighbor’s heels at 2,157.
Human traffickers find a fitting breeding ground in the fast-growing southern metros, luring victims with huge salaries and better lifestyles. A sizeable chunk of trafficking victims, migrant laborers in particular, are often forced into sex work. Recent raids led to the rescue of over 300 bonded laborers in Bangalore. NGO and government officials say this is only the tip of the iceberg.
Meena Jain, chairperson, Child Welfare Committee, said Bangalore has become a human trafficking hub over the years, and many of the victims are children. "Many rescued children brought to our care centers were made to work under inhuman conditions in factories and sweatshops across the city," she said.
Pointing to yet another angle of human trafficking, Meena cited the example of two children presently in the care of the Child Welfare Committee. "Parents of these children are Bangladeshi immigrants. Lured with jobs, they were trafficked to Bangalore from North India. The couple landed in police net because they didn't have proper papers. The kids, stranger to the city, are now in our care," she said.
NGOs feel there's a need to sensitize officials on the implications of human trafficking. Vani Kantli, state programme coordinator, Bachpan Bachao Andolan, an NGO that's part of anti-human trafficking raids across the city, said: "Many officials are indifferent when we raise this issue with them. Some argue the problem is less about trafficking and more about migrant laborers. But facts say otherwise."
South sought after: Over the years, states of southern India have become the most sought-after destinations for human traffickers in the country. Stats show these states contribute to more than half the number of human trafficking cases reported from across the country. On an average, each of the four south Indian states reports over 300 human cases every year. Only West Bengal and Bihar, among others, have 100 such cases every year. Some states report less than 10 cases annually.
A senior police officer said: "We have anti-human trafficking teams in place across Karnataka, and they are constantly tracking such activities."
Legally speaking: Article 3, paragraph(a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines human trafficking "as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs".
Courtesy: TOI
