Railways rescued over 1100 children from being trafficked

Bengaluru: The South Western Railway has allegedly rescued over 1,100 children from being trafficked over the last 1 year during its operation to check human trafficking.

The Railway commissioner Debasmita Chattopadhyaya said, when passengers get clues on such activities, they should be alerting the authorities for further action into the same. The same will be of help to crack down on this and other cases.

The authorities should be alerted on suspicious movement of children on trains or platforms.

“As part of Nanhe Parishte, we have rescued over 2,000 people and with the help of NGO’s and rehabilitated them. Cooperation of people is crucial as we are short-staffed, she said.

She said the operation has helped us learn some things about the trafficking. “There are certain trains and times when there is a surge in the activity. It seems the months around the exam season see a rise in the number of children getting into the clutches of the trafficking network, she said.

Prathima M, associate director of IJM, said most of the victims who were rescued from bonded labour said they were transported by trains. “The victims of human trafficking often originate Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam and West Bengal. They are lured with promises of better jobs, and facilitates before they are exploited and trapped into situations from which they cant escape,” she said.