Delhi saw 2nd highest number of child trafficking cases

new delhi: For the third straight year, the Capital continues to be among the top rankers in places reporting most cases of human trafficking among minors, coming just below the western state of Rajasthan, with as many as 536 cases surfacing in 2019 alone, according to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data.

With a little over 100 cases more, Rajasthan saw 653 such instances of child trafficking last year. That apart, Delhi recorded the highest number of cases of trafficked children being used as forced labour with 507 such instances —accounting for almost 20 per cent of all cases of child labour — witnessed in all States and Union Territories.

The data further said that only 93 such cases were reported to the police last year, out of which only 40 were charge-sheeted and final reports were filed in five cases.

Similarly, in 2018, the union territory saw 531 cases of child human trafficking, coming in next to Bihar (539 cases). Meanwhile, in 2017, with 434 such instances, the city ranked again below Rajasthan which saw 889 cases that year.

Significantly, both in 2017 and 2018, only 95 and 98 cases respectively were registered with the police, as per the data.

Among the trafficked children last year, there were 462 boys and 74 girls with 30 more boys and a reduction of 25 girls compared to the 2018 figure of 432 boys and 99 trafficked girls.

Incidentally, last month, after a tip-off from Child Rights NGO, the Railway Unit of the Delhi Police had rescued 14 minors and arrested 10 people in connection with trafficking them to the city from different parts of Bihar for forced

labour.