With a myriad number of placement agencies operating in the Capital, human traffickers have started to diversify their operations as they have begun to traffic women from Eastern India, and later sexually assault them, in these agencies to produce children who would be sold to prospective buyers across India.
This development has so far not been looked into by various NGO's and Child Welfare Committees in Eastern India. The reason for this change in the modus operandi, is the fact that many NGO's and other law enforcement agencies working in the field of human trafficking had started to catch up with them and were able to save children from the trafficking hot spots stretching from Bihar to Delhi.
The case came to light last Wednesday, after the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), had busted a sex racket operating from a placement agency, and rescued six women. The couple running the agency was arrested by Delhi Police.
When one of the victims registered her FIR at Nihal Vihar police station, it was found that she was raped on multiple occasions and was put under pressure to produce children.
Shakti Vahini, an NGO working in the field has also been pursuing this case and even after their vast experience, this was the first time that they came across such a development. "We are looking into the case and are also trying to identify this new network. Once we will make substantial progress, the concerned authorities will be informed," said Rishikant, social activist, Shakti Vahini.
Ealier, children were trafficked from various districts of Bihar like Samastipur and Gaya. The traffickers then would have to undertake a perilous journey using private cars and later trains. They would also have to then keep an eye out for the SSB, ITBP and various local police personnel before reaching their destination. This racket runs into a long chain and the kingpins of the racket are seldom caught, however, the traffickers would face a shortage of men due to the clampdown. Many of the traffickers used the railways, which became a hot spot for trafficking children; but due to stringent checking by the Railway police, they now have to look for other options.
"There is high security in major railway stations, so traffickers opt for stations with fewer footfalls," said Chandrashekhar Bardan, a police official from South 24 Parganas, Bengal.
Millennium Post, early this March, reported on how parents were roped in by traffickers to send their children to work in brick kilns, bangle making factories and embroider units in Rajasthan.
After this development, the traffickers started to diversify. They used the same women and turned them into baby making machines to skip the perilous trafficking route in Easter India. When Millennium Post contacted a child welfare committee member from Jharkhand, they also confirmed this development but said that they have only received verbal complaints from the victims.
"We have only got verbal complaints from the families of the victims. We are looking into this new trend and also the various motives behind such a move," said Shri Kant Kumar member CWC (Jharkhand).