Date:14/02/2007

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/14/stories/2007021421060300.htm

Police to crack down on human traffickers
Special Correspondent
*Three-day 79th All-India Women's Conference inaugurated
*It is celebrating the 80th foundation day of its Hyderabad branch
*Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU) to be increased to eight

ALL EARS: Woman leaders from across the country participating at the All India Women's Conference in the city on Tuesday. — PHOTO: P.V. SIVAKUMAR

HYDERABAD: The police will use the Andhra Pradesh Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Dacoits, Drug Offenders, Goondas Act, 1986 and Andhra Pradesh Control of Organised Crime Act to bring human traffickers to book, said Director-General of Police M.A. Basith.
He was speaking after Governor Rameshwar Thakur inaugurated a three-day 79th All-India Women's Conference (AIWC) here on Tuesday.
Mr. Basith said they were working in coordination with police in other States, apart from planning to augment the number of Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU) from the present three to eight.
Raids by the State police in Bhiwandi and Yavatmal areas of Maharashtra had led to arrest of 136 offenders and release of 157 victims, including 26 minors, last month.
The Governor gave away lifetime achievement awards to Gool Chenoy, Gyan Astana, Sudha Ranganathan, Hemachandra and Anees Mahmood. He also released a souvenir.
A blot on society
Mr. Rameshwar Thakur said human trafficking was a blot on society and an insult to women that deserved to be condemned. He urged law enforcement agencies to go all-out to stamp out the menace, blaming the `inferior' status of women in education, socio-economic and political life for violence against them.
AIWC is celebrating the 80th foundation day of its Hyderabad branch.

DECCAN CHRONICLE

Hyderabad
Monday, February 12, 2007
Rescued girls grab chance to put dark days behind


Seventeen-year-old Anju* wanted to be a teacher, but these hopes were crushed when her brother sold her to a brothel in Hyderabad two years ago. Her luck changed when she was rescued in a recent operation by the Crime Investigation Department and sent to a rescue home in the old city. Now she is learning carpentry and is once again able to dream of a future. Recalling her darkest days, Anju says, “The madam forced me into the trade. Initially I protested and they gave me no food and water for days. I was beaten round the clock and then I had no other option than to accept what she said,” she added.Anju is one of 156 girls from the State who were rescued in a series of operations around the country by the CID in the past few months. Of this number, 26 were minors. Many of girls are from Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Ranga Reddy and Adilabad districts.
The stories of torture endured by these young girls are chilling. Police say that many of the brothels injected them with hormones to induce artificial growth. Sex traffickers also gave some of them oestrogen injections to speed up puberty. Rescued girls told the police how cockroaches packed in a cloth would be tied to their stomachs if they refused to entertain customers. In some cases the victims were even locked in room with boxes containing snakes. Though some were sold by their closest relatives, others were deceived in the name of jobs, marriage, film roles, modelling and love.
After they are freed from the brothels, the girls are sent to government rescue homes or homes run by NGOs, says Mahesh Bhagawat, SP of the CID. “After that, the rehabilitation and reintegration work is taken up by the Women and Child Welfare Department,” he says. There are about 12 state run homes, but most of these are already crowded so minors are often sent to rescue homes run by NGOs. Here they learn vocational skills and get counselling. Sometimes, the NGOs help them get married too.
It is one of these homes that Santoo*, who was rescued from a brothel in Maharasthra, ended up. She recollects the first day she stepped into the rescue home two weeks ago, “Everything was new to me. My life was totally different.” The 21-year-old from Khammam said that she was working in a telephone booth when she was promised a good job in Hyderabad. But when she boarded the train, she was drugged and woke up to find herself in Maharashtra. Today, she is optimistic. “I have not given up yet. I am learning computers and I want to work with a good company as a computer professional,” she says.
Some of the rescued girls are on a mission to save others. Zaira*, at 20 is outspoken. “I want the world to know what happened to me. I want to dedicate my life to rescuing other girls. I can never forget the trauma I faced. I don’t want this to happen to others,” she says. Zaira like Santoo, was promised a good job. “I eloped with a guy when I was 16 but the marriage fell apart and I worked in a shop. A man promised me a job in Hyderabad, but he took me to Goa instead and sold me to a brothel.”
A lot of girls like Zaira end up working at their rescue homes. Some lucky ones go on to find work or get married. Sadly, there are a few who fall through the cracks and return to the flesh trade. Though the State government has a policy of rehabilitating these women, long-term implementation is a problem. After a certain point the girls must fend for themselves. If like Anju and Santoo, they embrace the chance to learn new skills, there is hope for a brighter future.
*names changed

Andhra’s girls vanish, many to Maharashtra’s brothels
Karn Kowshik
Posted online: Thursday, February 08, 2007 at 0000 hrs IST
HYDERABAD, FEBRUARY 7

Sarla was 10 when she left her house in Andhra Pradesh’s Khammam district. Her elder sister Lakshmi took her by train to Maharashtra, where she was passed on to another girl, who promised to employ her as a domestic help.
Instead, she was taken to a brothel, and sold to the ‘madam’ for Rs 2,000.
She spent the next few years changing hands, going from one owner to another. Her last ‘employer’ was Mrs. Trivedi. “We used to live with her. She would take us to picnics with men who we didn’t know. This happened very often. We were not given any money, but instead given food and clothes,” says Sarla.
She is now 15. And back.
That’s not a usual story in a state where over half of the missing children are never traced. An estimated 3,497 children, a majority of them girls, went missing last year and only 1,585 were recovered.
Sarla (name changed) was fortunate. She was rescued from Vani in Maharashtra’s Yavatmal by a team of Mumbai police. She was put up at a shelter in Mumbai and discovered by an Andhra police officer who visited the home to work out a system of sharing information with his Mumbai counterparts.
The police brought her back to Khammam, cracked down on the trafficking ring, arrested five women who ran it and rescued 37 girls who took the same route. As many as 10 of them are still minors.
Five years after going missing, cases of kidnapping and trafficking were registered for Sarla.
It’s the same story for Lekha, 16. She, too, was promised a job in Maharashtra and ended up in a Vani brothel. Lekha (name changed) has been rescued and is now at a counselling centre in Hyderabad, waiting for her HIV test results. In her Khammam village, no case was registered when she disappeared.
R K Meena, SP, Khammam, says parents are reluctant to register cases in rural Andhra, because of poverty, ignorance and illiteracy. “There is also a stigma associated with a missing girl. They know that if a case is filed, then police will come asking questions, and they do not want this,” he says.
Officials working against human trafficking say that Andhra Pradesh is a major supplier of girls for prostitution across the country.
Padma, recently arrested by Khammam police in Vani, Maharashtra says: “There are a lot of girls from AP in Vani.” While the police allege that she herself dealt in minor girls, she refutes it. “We too were forced into this business¿ why will we sell minors? Yes, we do trade in other girls. The other brothels around us do get children from AP. But it’s not our fault. It’s their own parents and siblings who come to sell them,” she says.
SP of the Women’s Protection cell in Hyderabad, Mahesh Bhagwat, says that many red-light areas prefer girls from AP.
In Andhra Pradesh, records show that the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secundrabad have the highest number of missing children in the state. In 2006, 1,031 of the 3,497 missing children were from here, and another 766 from neighbouring Cyberabad. Meena says that as labourers from rural areas migrate to the cty in search of jobs, many of their children are left unattended. Most of those missing are, in fact, from the lower strata of society.
Officials say that problem is worst in Khammam, Warangal, Adilabad as well as the coastal East and West Godawari districts. As in the recent case where 37 girls were recovered in Maharashtra, most of the minors that go missing are not reported in the state.
“In AP, the problem of missing children is compounded by factors like illiteracy. Social systems like the Devadasi system also endorse prostitution, making the police’s job harder,” says Union Women and Child Development minister (and Khammam MP) Renuka Choudhary. According to Choudhary, almost 40 per cent of trafficking originates in AP. Police officials say that there has been no survey to gauge how much trafficking originates from AP, but they place the figure “around 25-30 %.”
While Childline Hyderabad’s Isidore Phillips agrees that a large number of children that go missing from AP are trafficked, he says, “It’s not just trafficking for prostitution. There is also trafficking for labour, which is rampant. And while attaching the label of trafficking, we should not lose out on kidnapping for ransom.”
Phillips, who deals with a large number of missing children in Hyderabad, says, “There is a vast gap between reported and unreported cases. The police are reluctant to register FIRs for missing children. The Juvenile Justice act says that every police station must have a Special Juvenile police Unit and a Child Welfare Officer. This is non-existent.”
The state has no special team to tackle the problem of missing children. “We have no special team to find missing people,” says M. Ratan, Addl. Director General, CID (which deals with missing people).
“We can’t have a special unit for every different activity. It is the job of the local police and the SP of the district to find missing people,” he says.
Every fortnight, the CID compiles a list of missing people, along with photographs, and circulates it to all police stations as well as neighbouring states. T Krishna Prasad, who as Additional Director of the AP Police Academy trained three new Anti-Human Trafficking Units, says, “From the searching point of view, there is an issue. Something is missing¿ everyone is concentrating on sending, not on searching. We send pictures to districts, but nothing happens after that. There is no systematic approach to search for missing people. It’s not a job that police can do effectively. We should possibly employ some NGO for the job along with incentives.”
Other than trafficking for labour and prostitution, children from AP are also forced into begging or kidnapping. Though there have been cases of children being sent to the Gulf as child camel-jockeys, officials say such cases are difficult to track down, as parents are involved.

Human trafficking in Nalgonda Dist.

Date:07/02/2007
URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/07/stories/2007020715670300.htm
Andhra Pradesh -
Nalgonda Tribal couple wants back baby `sold' for Rs. 5,000

Staff Reporter
NALGONDA: Dakhrawath Saida, a tribal of Guntibava thanda in Devarakonda mandal, wants his daughter back from the person to whom he has allegedly sold her. But the person, who has `adopted' the 20-day-old baby, is refusing to give her back.
"They took away my daughter after giving me Rs.5,000 recently. They gave me their phone number saying that we could visit her whenever we wanted. But the person, who receives my calls, says that we can't get her back," Saida said. "We don't want the money but we want our baby back," Poori, Saida's wife, said.
A tribal of a nearby `thanda' has allegedly prompted the couple to give away the newborn baby. It is said that a person from Hyderabad is instrumental in the "purchase" of the baby. Saida also said that the middleman had allegedly taken Rs.1, 000 from him for arranging the deal.
Case registered
Unable to bear the agony, the tribal couple approached the police with the help of ICDS officials. "Poverty had led us to give away the baby. We handed over the baby at Mallepally with the help of our relative. Now I realise that they have deceived me," Saida said.
Kanakadurga of the ICDS contacted the person who had allegedly taken away the baby girl. "Initially, he told me that the girl died but later he changed his stand when I told him that I was calling from the police station," the official said. Sub-Inspector K. Srinvas told The Hindu that a case was filed on the basis of a complaint filed by the couple. He said that investigation was on to find out the whereabouts of the baby.
© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu

Project Aasara write up in Police Chief Magazine

Please check the link of January 2007 issue of "Police Chief Magazine"
http://policechiefm agazine.org/ magazine/ issues/12007/ pdfs/2006IACPAwa rds.pdf

Sweden’s Prostitution Solution:
Why Hasn’t Anyone Tried This Before?
Filed under: General, Gender
By Stan at 2:20 pm, 4/16/05
Sweden’s Prostitution Solution:
Why Hasn’t Anyone Tried This Before?

From the Women’s Justice Center
250 Sebastapol Road
Santa Rosa, CA 95407



In a centuries deep sea of clichés despairing that ‘prostitution will always be with us’, one country’s success stands out as a solitary beacon lighting the way. In just five years Sweden has dramatically reduced the number of its women in prostitution. In the capital city of Stockholm the number of women in street prostitution has been reduced by two thirds, and the number of johns has been reduced by 80%. There are other major Swedish cities where street prostitution has all but disappeared. Gone too, for the most part, are the renowned Swedish brothels and massage parlors which proliferated during the last three decades of the twentieth century when prostitution in Sweden was legal.

In addition, the number of foreign women now being trafficked into Sweden for sex is nil. The Swedish government estimates that in the last few years only 200 to 400 women and girls have been annually sex trafficked into Sweden, a figure that’s negligible compared to the 15,000 to 17,000 females yearly sex trafficked into neighboring Finland. No other country, nor any other social experiment, has come anywhere near Sweden’s promising results.

By what complex formula has Sweden managed this feat? Amazingly, Sweden’s strategy isn’t complex at all. It’s tenets, in fact, seem so simple and so firmly anchored in common sense as to immediately spark the question, “Why hasn’t anyone tried this before?”

Sweden’s Groundbreaking 1999 Legislation

In 1999, after years of research and study, Sweden passed legislation that a) criminalizes the buying of sex, and b) decriminalizes the selling of sex. The novel rationale behind this legislation is clearly stated in the government’s literature on the law:

“In Sweden prostitution is regarded as an aspect of male violence against women and children. It is officially acknowledged as a form of exploitation of women and children and constitutes a significant social problem… gender equality will remain unattainable so long as men buy, sell and exploit women and children by prostituting them.”

In addition to the two pronged legal strategy, a third and essential element of Sweden’s prostitution legislation provides for ample and comprehensive social service funds aimed at helping any prostitute who wants to get out, and additional funds to educate the public. As such, Sweden’s unique strategy treats prostitution as a form of violence against women in which the men who exploit by buying sex are criminalized, the mostly female prostitutes are treated as victims who need help, and the public is educated in order to counteract the historical male bias that has long stultified thinking on prostitution. To securely anchor their view in firm legal ground, Sweden’s prostitution legislation was passed as part and parcel of the country’s 1999 omnibus violence against women legislation.

An Early Obstacle in the Path

Interestingly, despite the country’s extensive planning prior to passing the legislation, the first couple years into this novel project nothing much happened at all. Police made very few arrests of johns and prostitution in Sweden, which had previously been legalized, went on pretty much as it had gone on before. Naysayers the world over responded to the much publicized failure with raucous heckling, “See? Prostitution always has been, and it always will be.”

But eminently secure in the thinking behind their plan, the Swedes paid no heed. They quickly identified, then solved the problem. The hang-up, the place where their best efforts had snagged, was that law enforcement wasn’t doing it’s part. The police themselves, it was determined, needed in-depth training and orientation to what the Swedish public and legislature already understood profoundly. Prostitution is a form of male violence against women. The exploiter/buyers need to be punished, and the victim/prostitutes need to be helped. The Swedish government put up extensive funds and the country’s police and prosecutors, from the top ranks down to the officer on the beat, were given intensive training and a clear message that the country meant business. It was then that the country quickly began to see the unequaled results.

Today, not only do the Swedish people continue to overwhelming support their country’s approach to prostitution (80% of people in favor according to national opinion polls), but the country’s police and prosecutors have also come around to be among the legislation’s staunchest supporters. Sweden’s law enforcement has found that the prostitution legislation benefits them in dealing with all sex crimes, particularly in enabling them to virtually wipe out the organized crime element that plagues other countries where prostitution has been legalized or regulated.

The Failure of Legalization and/or Regulation Strategies

This Swedish experiment is the single, solitary example in a significant sized population of a prostitution policy that works. In 2003, the Scottish government in looking to revamp its own approach to prostitution enlisted the University of London to do a comprehensive analysis of outcomes of prostitution policies in other countries. In addition to reviewing Sweden’s program, the researchers chose Australia, Ireland, and the Netherlands to represent various strategies of legalizing and/or regulating prostitution. The researchers did not review the situation where prostitution is criminalized across the board as it is in the US. The outcome of that approach is already well known. The failures and futility of the revolving door of arresting and rearresting prostitutes is all too familiar the world over.

But the outcomes, as revealed in the Univ. of London study, in the states under review that had legalized or regulated prostitution were found to be just as discouraging or even more discouraging than the traditional all round criminalization. In each case the results were dramatic in the negative.

Legalization and/or regulation of prostitution, according to the study, led to:

*
A dramatic increase in all facets of the sex industry,
*
A dramatic increase in the involvement of organized crime in the sex industry,
*
A dramatic increase in child prostitution,
*
An explosion in the number of foreign women and girls trafficked into the region, and
*
Indications of an increase in violence against women.

In the state of Victoria, Australia, where a system of legalized, regulated brothels was established, there was such an explosion in the number of brothels that it immediately overwhelmed the system’s ability to regulate them, and just as quickly these brothels became a mire of organized crime, corruption, and related crimes. In addition, surveys of the prostitutes working under systems of legalization and regulation find that the prostitutes themselves continue to feel coerced, forced, and unsafe in the business.

A survey of legal prostitutes under the showcase Netherlands legalization policy finds that 79% say they want to get out of the sex business. And though each of the legalization/regulation programs promised help for prostitutes who want to leave prostitution, that help never materialized to any meaningful degree. In contrast, in Sweden the government followed through with ample social services funds to help those prostitutes who wanted to get out. 60% of the prostitutes in Sweden took advantage of the well funded programs and succeeded in exiting prostitution.*

* The full Scottish government report on prostitution policies can be seen at www.scottish.parliament.uk

So Why Hasn’t Anyone Tried This Before?

Why, then, with Sweden’s success so clearly lighting the way, aren’t others quickly adopting the plan? Well, some are. Both Finland and Norway are on the verge of making the move. And if Scotland takes the advise of its own study, it will go in that direction too. But, the answer to the question of why other countries aren’t jumping to adopt Sweden’s plan is probably the same as the answer to the question of why governments haven’t tried Sweden’s solution before.

In order to see prostitutes as victims of male coercion and violence it requires that a government first switch from seeing prostitution from the male point of view to the female point of view. And most, if not virtually all, countries of the world still see prostitution and every other issue from a predominantly male point of view.

Sweden, in contrast, has led the way in promoting equality for women for a very long time. In 1965, for example, Sweden criminalized rape in marriage. Even by the 1980’s there were states in the United States that still hadn’t made that fundamental recognition of women’s rights to control her own body. The Swedish government also stands out in having the highest proportion of women at all levels of government. In 1999, when Sweden passed its groundbreaking prostitution legislation, the Swedish Parliament was composed of nearly 50% women.

Sweden’s prostitution policy was first designed and lobbied for by Sweden’s organization of women’s shelters and was then fostered and fought for by a bipartisan effort of Sweden’s uniquely powerful and numerous female parliamentarians. Nor has Sweden stopped there. In 2002, Sweden passed additional legislation bolstering the original prostitution legislation. The 2002 Act Prohibiting Human Trafficking for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation closed some of the loopholes in the earlier legislation and further strengthened the government’s ability to go after the network of persons that surround and support prostitution, such as the recruiters, the transporters, and the hosts.

And Why Can’t We Copy Sweden’s Success Here?

While it’s probably true that we and other countries are still much more steeped in patriarchal darkness than Sweden, there’s no reason we can’t push now for the policy changes that Sweden has made. The beauty of it is that once the ground has been broken and the proof of success has been established, it should be ever much easier to convince others to go down that path

Police rescue 41 girls from sex trade

Uma Sudhir
Monday, January 29, 2007 (Warangal/Yavatmal):
The Andhra Pradesh police rescued 41 women, who had been forced into the sex trade, from Yavatmal district of Maharashtra.
A dozen minors were among the women rescued during raids by anti-trafficking teams."Very young girls are being lured and trapped by brokers into this trade," said Ravi Gupta, DIG, Warangal Range.
Sixteen-year-old Jyothi who went two years ago to work as domestic help in Mumbai, was sold three times by three different brokers in Mumbai, Pune and Yavatmal.
"We have arrested five traffickers. The main one among them is Padma and the second one is Parveen," said Mahesh Bhagwat, CID-SP, Women's Protection Cell.
It is an open secret that girls and women from Andhra Pradesh are highest in numbers in the brothels of Mumbai, Pune and Goa.While a traditional sex market has been in operation in coastal Andhra Pradesh, the worrying aspect is the huge numbers being trafficked from agency areas of Khammam, Visakhapatnam and other backward regions.

THE TIMES OF INDIA
Human trafficking: India on US watch list

[ 23 Jan, 2007 1103hrs IST IANS ]

WASHINGTON: India
figures among 39 countries placed on a US
"special watch list" of nations deemed to warrant special scrutiny
of their anti-trafficking efforts under a 2003 US law.

The government of India has made some progress in
combating its significant problem of human trafficking since the release of a
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for 2006, the state department said while
releasing an interim assessment of these countries for 2007.

However, the government still needs to go
further in designating and empowering a national agency or office,
specifically tasked with carrying out an effective law enforcement response to
trafficking crimes committed throughout India, it said.

Some of these countries could be downgraded to
the lowest "Tier 3" - countries whose governments do not fully
comply with the minimum standards under US Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorisation Act (TVPRA) of 2003 - in the upcoming June 2007 TIP report if
their anti-trafficking efforts this year are determined to be inadequate, it
warned.

Besides India,
the 2007 interim assessment covers Algeria,
Argentina, Armenia, Bahrain,
Belize, Bolivia, Brazil,
Cambodia, Central African Republic, China, Cyprus,
Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt,
Equatorial Guinea, Finland, Indonesia,
Israel, Jamaica, Kenya,
Kuwait, Laos, Libya,
Macau, Malawi,
Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico,
Oman, Peru, Qatar,
Russia, Singapore, South
Africa, Switzerland,
Taiwan, Togo, and the United Arab Emirates.

On India,
the interim assessment said that despite estimates of a significant debt
bondage situation in the country, New
Delhi reported no arrests, prosecutions, or
convictions of employers using bonded labour. Similarly, it did not provide
evidence of any rescues of bonded labour victims.

India, however, did make moderate progress on addressing
child labour between September and November. Delhi Police rescued 140 children
working in zari factories and rice mills, but it is unclear how these children
have been rehabilitated.

In October, the government also enacted a ban
on the employment of children in domestic work or the hospitality industry
with penalties including three months to two years incarceration and the
possibility of fines, it noted.

Referring to India's anti-trafficking efforts,
the interim report said that in September 2006, the Indian government
responded to the need for a central anti-trafficking law enforcement effort by
creating a two-person federal "nodal cell" responsible for
collecting and analysing data of state-level law enforcement efforts

The cell is responsible for
identifying problem areas and analysing the circumstances creating these areas
and monitoring action taken by state governments for combating trafficking in
these areas. It is also to organise coordination meetings with nodal police
officers of the states.

The government has provided significant in-kind
contributions to a two-year programme by the US
government funded United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in
Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal, and Andhra
Pradesh. The programme focuses on raising the awareness of police and
prosecutors on the problem of trafficking and to build their capacity to
investigate and prosecute people involved with trafficking, it said.

But law enforcement activity to combat human
trafficking remains confined to the state level and continues to be relatively
low in comparison to the estimated extent of the situation.

However, in June, two former state ministers in
Jammu and Kashmir
were arrested for trafficking in minor girls for commercial sexual
exploitation, along with other senior government officials. Two traffickers in
Delhi were
also convicted and sentenced to three and seven years in prison, and another
was arrested in August, it said.

In November 2006, the parliamentary committee
returned the amendments to the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act to the
ministry of women and child development for revision.

The committee asked the ministry to clarify
language, provide a clearer delineation between criminals and victims,
prioritise programmes and resources for expanded rehabilitation and
reintegration efforts, and recommended passage of the bill with those changes,
the interim report noted.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/NEWS/World/The_United_States/Human_trafficking_India_on_US_watch_list/articleshow/msid-1393443,curpg-1.cms

28/01/2007

Date:28/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/28/stories/2007012804670500.htm
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Andhra Pradesh - Khammam

41 State girls rescued from brothels in Maharashtra

Staff Reporter

Flesh trade racket busted

KHAMMAM: In a major operation monitored jointly by the Khammam police, the Women Protection Cell and the CID, special teams raided brothel houses at Wani of Yeotmal district in Maharashtra and rescued 41 girls from the State. They included 15 victims from Khammam district alone while 10 of the rescued girls were minors.

The Khammam Superintendent of Police, Rajiv Kumar Meena said here today that five persons indulging in flesh trade and organising brothel houses were arrested in the raids. They included Shaik Parveen, Rani, Baliram Singh Tagore, Nakka Padma- all residents of Khammam district and Rathamma of Warangal. One more person- Nakka Ramu alleged to be party to the racket was absconding.

Medical aid

Some of the girls rescued in the operation belonged to Kurnool, Guntur, Krishna, Nalgonda, Nizamabad, Ranga Reddy and Adilabad districts. Four girls who belonged to Maharashtra were handed over to the Yeotmal Police. The victims were being provided medical aid and rehabilitation. The Superintendent of Police said that the flesh trade racket was busted with the information furnished by a minor girl, Jyothi from Palvancha town.

The girl who was missing for the past two years, was rescued from another brothel house in Pune recently. Padma from Palvancha town picked up the girl promising employment and sold her to Parveen at Warli. Parveen in turn sold the girl to one Swapna five months ago. A case was booked in Palvancha police station on a complaint lodged by the victims father.

© Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu


News Update Service
Thursday, January 11, 2007 : 1030 Hrs

28 women rescued in anti-trafficking operation

Hyderabad, Jan. 11 (PTI): Twenty-eight women, including five minors, were rescued during a joint anti-trafficking operation launched by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra Police at Bhiwandi in Thane district.
The victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking hailed from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra and Nepal, Additional Director General of Police (CID), M Ratan, told reporters here Wednesday.
He said nine traffickers were arrested and five of them belonged to Andhra Pradesh. Three victims also hail from that state.
A 75-strong force comprising police personnel of the two States raided Hanuman Tekadi area at Bhiwandi on January 5 after a complaint was filed by a victim, Ratan said.
Superintendent of Police (Women Protection Cell), M M Bhagwat, who led the 20-member police force from Maharashtra, said the three women from Andhra Pradesh will be rehabilitated under the Aasra scheme launched to aid sex workers.
DIG (Women Protection Cell), Umpati, who was also present at the press conference, said a search was underway for 500 traffickers from Andhra Pradesh who indulged in commercial sexual exploitation in other parts of the country.
________________________________________
Hyderabad
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/403200701111047.htm

------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad
Date:11/01/2007
CID team rescues 28 victims of sex rackets

Special Correspondent

Raids conducted on brothels in Bhiwandi near Mumbai over a month

HYDERABAD: A team of the Crime Investigation Department (CID) has rescued 28 victims of sex rackets belonging to Andhra Pradesh from brothels in the powerloom-rich Bhiwandi town near Mumbai. They include five minor girls. They were among the 39 women who were traced out by the CID in raids on brothels in Bhiwandi during the last one month, the Additional Director-General of CID, M. Ratan, told news persons here on Wednesday.

He said a team of the CID from the State coordinated with the local police of Bhiwandi last week in checking 400 brothels in localities where powerlooms were operated. The entire area of Hanuman Tekdi was cordoned off for an hour in the evening when there was a power breakdown. The raids continued with the help of torches and candles. Seventy local policemen assisted the operation.

Nine arrested

Mr. Ratan also said that nine traffickers who took women from various districts of the State with the promise of employment were arrested. Five of them were from Rayachoti. They were being booked under non-bailable provisions of Indian Penal Code. He also said the team was sent to Bhiwandi after a girl escaped from the clutches of a brothel keeper and lodged a complaint with police at Kadiri in Anantapur. This was the first time that a major operation to flush out commercial sex workers was launched in the communally sensitive Bhiwandi. Raids were also conducted at Guntur, Vizag and Eluru

URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/11/stories/2007011120860500.htm

Date:05/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mag/2006/11/05/stories/2006110500210400.htm
Opportunities for change
PREETU VENUGOPALAN
Economic rehabilitation is an important part of giving victims of trafficking a new life. An NGO in Goa shows the way...
New directions: The mechanised laundry set up by the women in Goa.
IT is 8.45 a.m. A confident Sudha waits outside her home in Goa, wearing a uniform designed by one of the country's top fashion designer, Savio Jon. She is waiting for a cab to take her to work. Sudha works for a laundry unit at Sancoale Industrial Estate, which she hopes will one day be the most successful rehabilitation programme.
Six months ago, 23-year-old Sudha had no aim or ambition and faced an uncertain future. Dedicated to Goddess Yellama at the age of 12, she was forced into prostitution as a Devadasi at the age of 14, and worked for a gharwali (brothel keeper) in Baina, Goa. The mass demolition of cubicles in Baina's unofficial red light area on June 14, 2004, didn't change her situation, rather worsened it. With no economic rehabilitation in sight, she was forced to travel to other parts of the State for "business".
Economic support
Incidentally, the Supreme Court in Gaurav Jain vs. Union of India, 1997, had pointed out that Welfare Departments should undertake economic rehabilitation programmes, as this would prevent the practice of the dedication of young girls to prostitution as Devadasis, Jogins or Venkatasins. "It would be meaningful if rehabilitation programmes are launched and implementation machinery is set up not only to eradicate the fertile source of prostitution, but also for successful rehabilitation of the fallen women who are victims of circumstances to regain their lost respect to the dignity of person to sustain equality of status, economic and social empowerment," the court observed.
In Goa, there is much talk about combating trafficking of persons, thanks to a report on "Trafficking of women and children in India 2002-2003", commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission along with UNIFEM and the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS), which reveals that Goa has the highest level of trafficking of women and children in the country. Though economic rehabilitation is vital, little has been done by the government or NGOs to economically rehabilitate trafficked victims.
"We need economic rehabilitation programmes because if we don't provide rescued trafficked victims with jobs, they will go back to prostitution, if not in Baina, then in another part of the State or country," opines former DGP of Goa, Neeraj Kumar.
New journeys
After nine years of commercial sex work, Sudha has embarked on a new journey that is helping her see herself as part of the whole. "At first it was difficult, but I was determined," reveals Sudha, who is now a trained commercial driver. And she is not alone.
Fatima doesn't remember her village in Karnataka. She always believed Goa was home until the demolition drive happened. "I was denied compensation by the Goa Government because I am a non-Goan," she says. She was six-months-old when her poverty-stricken family came to Baina seeking a livelihood. Personal problems forced her into prostitution. Following the demolition, decreasing income, loneliness and insecurity only compounded her troubles.
But now, like Sudha, she has taken her first step to freedom from sexual and emotional exploitation. "I have got an opportunity to change my life, to live life with dignity and I have chosen it," she said.
The wheels of destiny are changing, slowly but surely, for 40 silent, helpless victims of commercial sexual exploitation, desperate to leave the trade, but left with little due to poverty.
ARZ, an NGO working with trafficked victims in Goa, as part of its economic rehabilitation programme, has set up a fully mechanised laundry unit, "Swift Wash", at Sancole Industrial estate. The first of its kind in Goa, it provides employment to 40 trafficked victims, mostly from Baina. "We want to ensure that women earn a dignified income, as it is the only tool that can pull them out and plug all entries into prostitution," revealed Arun Pandey, Director, ARZ.
Arun hopes the unit will develop into a full-fledged women's cooperative with trafficked women being the sole owners of the entire unit. And, Arun is not the only person dreaming of a better future. Laxmi, a trafficked victim, optimistically reveals, "Our hard work will be rewarded. Within a year or two, we want the unit to grow and expand so that we can help more children and women like us."
The effort has won accolades from former DGP Kumar, who says, "This is the first time that an NGO in Goa has walked the talk." And, for trafficking victims like Fatima and Sudha, the laundry unit has helped them leave prostitution, something even the Baina demolition couldn't achieve. Today, they are confident and empowered women, ready to fight their exploiters, including their mard.
T.S. Sawant, Director, Women and Child, Goa, admits that the idea is very good and the department would support the endeavour. "This is what Goa needs at the moment to combat trafficking. After all, poverty is the main reason why innocent girls and women are pushed into prostitution and economic rehabilitation is the need of the hour if one wants to seriously combat trafficking of persons." The State Government is planning to seek ARZ's help to provide economic rehabilitation to trafficked victims in the State Protective Home.
If human rights are about the rights of humans, about empowering the underprivileged and neglected in society by providing them equal opportunities, then this is just the beginning.
(A few names have been changed to protect identity.)

'Project Aasara' paper presented at BPR&D Colloquium

Project aasara is winner of International IACP/Motorola Webber Seavey law enforcement award.

www.newkerala.com
India News
Andhra Police gets international awards
Hyderabad, Nov 3: Andhra Pradesh Police have earned international recognition from their peers for their social programmes, including one for rehabilitating sex workers.
While a police team from Nalgonda district was honoured with an award from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) of the US, police in Adilabad district bagged the IACP-Motorola Webber Seavy Law Enforcement Finalist award for 2006.The IACP award was presented to Nalgonda police in recognisation of its work under the Aasara Project to combat organised prostitution in and around the temple town of Yadagirigutta and to rehabilitate the families of sex workers.

The project also won the Civil Rights award for 2006.

The awards were presented recently during IACP's annual conference at Boston in the US that was attended by 3,000 police officers from 71 countries."Such international recognition for efforts by law enforcement officers to reach out to the community and go beyond the call of duty will act as a motivating factor for other officers to do more for the community," said
Superintendent of Police Mahesh Bhagwat, the leader of the project.

The Webber Seavey award for quality in law enforcement recognises innovative policing programmes that can serve as models for law enforcement agencies around the world.Named after IACP's first president, the award is presented annually to top three programmes and seven finalists and 15 semi-finalists from across the world, said a release.
--- PTI


NEW INDIAN EXPRESS
Global awards to Nalgonda police
Wednesday November 1 2006 10:52 IST


Jim Sarallo Motorolla Vice President Presenting IACP/Motrola Webber Seavey award
HYDERABAD: Project Aasara, started by Nalgonda district Superintendent of Police Mahesh M Bhagwat and his officers to combat organised prostitution in and around Yadagirigutta, has won two international awards from International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), USA.The prestigious IACP, Motorola Webber Seavey Law Enforcement award for year 2006, was presented to Bhagwat and circle inspector of Yadagirigutta police station G Venkatesh at a ceremony in Boston city in USA recently.

The project also won the civil rights award for year 2006.

John Fenegan, IACP,Civil Rights Committee chairman presenting Civil rights award

Also, the family counselling centre project of Mandamarri police in Adilabad district earned IACP Motorola Webber Seavey finalist award.The CI of Mandamarri police station, Mohammed Tajuddin received the award in Boston.

This is the first time that the State police have won three international awards.Project Aasara was taken up by the Nalgonda police in partnership with DRDA, education department, women & child welfare and NGOs.
http://www.newindpress.com/news.asp?id=IEU20061101003052

AP police earns three international awards
Thursday, 02 November , 2006, 10:35
The Nalgonda District police were honoured with two awards of International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and Civil Rights award for the year 2006 at a ceremony held in Boston city in the US recently.
According to an official release here, Nalgonda Superintendent of Police Mahesh Bhagawat received the IACP, Motorola Webber Seavy Law Enforcement 2006 award and Civil Rights award 2006.
The honour was in recognition of Nalgonda police to combat organised prostitution in the district through 'Project Aasara' launched by the police.
The Nalgonda district police had launched the anti-trafficking project with the partnership of education , women and child welfare departments and NGOs. Prostitution was reduced by 90 per cent since the project was implemented at Yadagirigutta in the district.
The IACP, founded in 1893, is the world's oldest and the largest association of law enforcement executives with more than 19,000 members from 100 countries.
http://sify.com/cities/hyderabad/fullstory.php?id=14322709
(Sify News)

Community Policing Tactics Win Global Recognition
Monday October 16, 10:00 AM EDT
BOSTON, Oct 16, 2006 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Police departments from the United States, Canada and India today will receive the Webber Seavey award, an annual recognition of innovative police programs from around the world that is sponsored by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and Motorola, Inc. (MOT).
The 15th annual Webber Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement this year spotlights programs that combated identity theft in the United States, drug smuggling/addiction in remote areas of Quebec and the organized sex trade in India. Each year, the award recognizes innovative policing programs that can serve as models for law enforcement agencies worldwide.
"This year's Webber Seavey Award recipients are to be commended for stepping up in their own communities to solve problems that in some cases have festered for years," said Mark Moon, vice president of the Government & Commercial Markets Division, Motorola Networks & Enterprise. "We are especially pleased to see the strong participation and recognition of programs from both inside and outside the United States, which serves to inspire innovative policing worldwide."
Named for the IACP's first president, the award is presented annually to agencies and departments in recognition of their promotion of a standard of excellence that epitomizes law enforcement's contribution and dedication to the quality of life in local communities. A total of 123 law enforcement agencies from around the world submitted their crime-fighting programs for recognition this year. A panel of law officials and previous winners selected the top three programs, as well as seven finalists and 15 semi-finalists. All of the award winners will be honored at a breakfast today at the 113th Annual IACP Conference in Boston.
"I applaud this year's IACP/Motorola Webber Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement winners," said Chief Mary Ann Viverette of the Gaithersburg, Md., police force and the current president of the IACP. "These law enforcement agencies are breaking new ground and leading the way for our profession. I am certain that these innovative programs will serve as a blueprint to help others develop and strengthen their agencies to make their communities safer."
Winning Programs
Beaverton Police Department: Beaverton, Ore.
Police in Beaverton, Ore., had tracked a significant increase in identity theft and fraud, up 54 percent in just four years. The department formed a Special Enforcement Unit to focus training and other resources on its efforts to combat a crime that can involve high-tech weapons rather than guns or knives. During its first two years, the unit made 494 fraud-related arrests and was able to prevent the loss of more than $701,000 from citizens and businesses in the town of 83,000. The Beaverton police got the special unit off the ground in 2003 with a federal grant of $248,000.
Community education and media outreach were important elements of the award-winning program. The department talked to community groups, especially business and senior citizen organizations, about protecting financial records and transactions. The police also joined forces with a banking industry group to address the problem, and solved a case involving the recovery of more than $126,000.
"Winning the Webber Seavey Award shows that programs that improve quality of life for local citizens are a large part of policing," said Beaverton Police Chief David G. Bishop.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police: Westmont, Quebec
Tucked away in far northern areas of Quebec, Canada, 11 culturally distinct aboriginal nations live in communities totaling about 70,000 people. Because of their remote locations and adherence to tribal traditions, many "First Nations" residents are insulated from Canadian society. Organized crime leaders and drug traffickers seized on this, seeking to infiltrate First Nations communities.
The law enforcement agencies of the First Nations sought help from federal and provincial governments in the early part of this decade. Through unprecedented cooperation and collaboration, the innovative program netted more than $300 million in drug seizures by March 2005. A Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU), composed of members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Surete du Quebec and First Nations law officers, enabled officers to get specialized training in fighting organized crime and lent more manpower to the effort to stem drug trafficking. Since its creation in 2005, the CFSEU has completed three major international operations that have led to more than 107 arrests for gang activity, drug trafficking and money laundering.
"The most rewarding aspect of the Aboriginal CFSEU's success has been the partnerships created from working together as a team," observed Inspector Yves Trudel of the Quebec force and a unit leader. "Even when officers eventually leave the unit they take with them the knowledge, contacts and valuable experience of learning how to fight organized crime."
District Police Nalgonda: Government of Andhra Pradesh, India
Illiteracy and its resultant high unemployment kept a community in the state of Andhra Pradesh in a multi-generational cycle of prostitution as a livelihood. The state was known as the largest supplier of women for sexual exploitation, and as a result had the highest childhood HIV/AIDS infection rate in India. Through Project Aasara, law enforcement officials of the Nalgonda District in the state partnered with government and non-government sources, including the Red Cross, to tackle the crime and rehabilitate "sex workers." In about a year, police charged 210 "procurers and organizers." Because of the program's local success, Aasara
will be implemented in the entire state.

"Aasara means shelter or support, and that was what we attempted to provide to victims of trafficking," said Supt. Mahesh Bhagwat, project leader. Bhagwat added that the role of the police has shifted from one of strictly law enforcement to an agency that fosters "rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration" into society.
Traditional law enforcement techniques had failed because they hadn't worked to break the cycle of the sex trade. Through Aasara, women are counseled, receive job training and AIDS education, and their children are eligible to attend a special school. "We have worked hard to help women overcome the social stigma of being a former sex worker, and to reintegrate these women into society," Bhagwat said.
About the IACP
Founded in 1893, the International Association of Chiefs of Police is the world's oldest and largest association of law enforcement executives with more than 19,000 members in nearly 100 countries.
About Motorola
Motorola is known around the world for innovation and leadership in wireless and broadband communications. Inspired by our vision of Seamless Mobility, the people of Motorola are committed to helping you get and stay connected simply and seamlessly to the people, information, and entertainment that you want and need. We do this by designing and delivering "must have" products, "must do" experiences and powerful networks -- along with a full complement of support services. A Fortune 100 company with global presence and impact, Motorola had sales of US $35.3 billion in 2005. For more information about our company, our people and our innovations, please visit http://www.motorola.com .
MOTOROLA and the Stylized M Logo are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE Motorola, Inc.
http://finance.myway.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_ge.jsp?news_id=cmt-289p4261&feed=cmt&date=20061016

2006 IACP/Motorola Webber Seavey Award Winners

Webber Seavey 2006 WINNERS
Agency # Project Title

Beaverton Police Department# Identity Theft and Fraud Prevention Program

District Police Nalgonda, Government of Andhra Pradesh, India# Project Aasara

Royal Canadian Mounted Police# Aboriginal CFSEU

FINALISTS
Agency # Project Title

Andhra Pradesh State Police#Family Counseling Centers

Baltimore Police Department#Community Safe Zone Project

Broken Arrow Police Department#Broken Arrow Police Department Leadership Team

Miami Police Department#Operation Difference

Ohio State Patrol#Ohio State Highway Patrol-Strategic Goal

Toronto Police Service#Empowered Student Partnerships-Canada's Largest Student-Driven High School Safety Program

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)#Operation Community Shield

SEMIFINALIST

Agency # Project Title

City of Montreal Police Department# Project Cyclops

Criminal Intelligence Service Canada (CISC)#Strategic Early Warning System for Organized and Serious Crime (SEWS)

Delhi Police Department#PARIVARTAN

El Paso Police Department#Human Trafficking Task Force

El Paso Police Department#Multi-Agency Referral System (MARS)

Everett Police Department, Crime Prevention Unit#Crime Free Rental Housing Program

Gulf Breeze Police Department#Volunteers on Patrol

Lane County Sheriff's Office and Lane County Adult Corrections#Defendant and Offender Management Center: A Multi-Jurisdictional Project

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Century Station#Florence Firestone Community Enhancement Team

Montgomery County Police Department#The Digital Case File

Nagpur Police#Networked/Online Police Complaint Registration and Monitoring System

Peel Regional Police#School Police Emergency Action Response (S.P.E.A.R.)

Portland Police Bureau#Downtown Livability Project

Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety#A Helmet for Every Child

Toronto Police Service#Project Centurion

Quality in police work is a critical factor in the well being and safety of our communities. The Webber Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement promotes and recognizes quality performance by agencies around the globe. The award is named after Chief of Police Webber S. Seavey, the first president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Seavey exemplified the dedication to the profession and problem-solving that this award honors. The award is presented annually at the International Association of Police Chief Conference to agencies that have implemented an innovative project focused on enhancing quality in law enforcement. This award allows agencies to exchange and share ideas and solutions with others public safety agencies.Brief History A joint IACP/Motorola committee was formed in 1992 to develop the program. The award was grounded in a desire to continually promote and foster quality within law enforcement. The award would serve three goals: Recognize outstanding quality achievements in law enforcement Promote awareness and understanding of quality as it affects law enforcement Facilitate the sharing of information on successful quality programs With these goals in mind, the program was officially kicked off at the 1992 IACP Annual Conference.Award qualifications Each agency must submit a description of a project that illustrates an innovative approach to quality in law enforcement. The project should focus on achievements in one or more of the following five award initiatives: Continual improvement of services to the community Strengthening of police relations and promotion of community participation Effective use of resources Enhancement of communication within, and cooperation among, law enforcement agencies Development of creative and innovative approaches that raise the quality and effectiveness of law enforcement

2006 IACP Civil Rights Award Winners
2006 IACP Civil Rights AwardsIACP's Civil Rights Committee is proud to announce the Civil Rights Awards for 2006. This year saw an unprecedented increase in the number of submissions. These awards are bestowed upon law enforcement organizations, programs, or persons who demonstrate exemplary performance in the investigation or prevention of civil rights crimes, the enforcement of civil rights statutes, education efforts regarding civil rights issues, and actions or interventions taken to protect civil and human rights.
This year's winners:
1)Aboriginal Relations Team, Edmonton Police Services, Ontario, Canada
2)Arson Task Force, Riverside Police Department, California; Riverside Fire Department;
3)Riverside office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and Riverside office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
4)Don't Buy-In Hate/Bias Project, Calgary Police Services, Alberta, Canada
5)Hispanic Outreach Program, Durant Police Department, Oklahoma
6)Programme Aasara (antitrafficking program), Nalgonda District Police, Government of Andhra, India
7)James O. Ingram, special agent in charge (retired), FBI, and William J. Stokes, special agent, FBI, for their efforts in the investigation of the Edgar Ray Killen case, the basis for the movie Mississippi Burning
Award winners and guests will be honored in a special reception hosted by the IACP Civil Rights Committee in Boston during IACP's annual conference. In addition, award winners will be introduced at the annual banquet on October 18. The civil rights awards are sponsored by V.H. Blackinton & Co. Inc. and Fechheimer Brothers Co.

THE HINDU
August 18,2006

Police project makes it to U.S. award
Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD: The `Family Counselling Centres' project launched by the Andhra Pradesh police has made it to the top slot of the 10 finalists for the Webber's Seavey
Awards for quality in law enforcement, instituted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), Virginia, United States.
Another project from the State — Aasra — launched by the Nalgonda police for reform and rehabilitation of sex workers has also found a place among the top 10 projects will receive the awards in Boston on October 13.

THE HINDU
July,22,2006

Two police projects shortlisted for award
K. Srinivas Reddy
Aasara, counselling centres win accolades

*Award aimed at recognising quality achievements in law enforcement

*Two other Indian police initiatives also find a place in the list

*Award for the best initiative will be announced at the IACP meet in October

HYDERABAD: Two initiatives launched by the police in Andhra Pradesh have won recognition from an international agency, when they were shortlisted as semi-finalists for the 2006 IACP/Motorola Webber Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement.
The award named after Webber S. Seavey, the first president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) in Vancouver, is aimed at recognising quality achievements in law enforcement, promoting awareness and understanding of quality.
The State police initiatives - Project Aasara, an anti-trafficking programme launched by the Nalgonda police and the Family Counselling Centres programme, launched by the State police have been shortlisted as the semi-finalists.
There are 25 such police initiatives short-listed as the semi-finalists.
Project Aasara, launched by the Nalgonda SP Mahesh M. Bhagwath, aims to checking trafficking in women and rehabilitation of women rescued from the clutches of brothels.
The Family Counselling Centres initiative launched all over the State is aimed at resolving domestic disputes.
Apart from the two projects, two other Indian police initiatives also find a place in the list.
Project Parivartan launched by the Delhi police and the Networked/Online Police Complaint Registration and Monitoring System of the Nagpur police have also been included in the list.
Ten finalists are to be chosen from the 25 semi-finalists and then three winning projects will be chosen from the finalists.
The award for the best initiative would be announced at the IACP conference in Boston in October
http://www.thehindu.com/2006/07/22/stories/2006072207400500.htm

humantrafficking.org
A web resource for combating human trafficking

International Chiefs of Police Recognize Police Departments for their Anti-Trafficking Work
August 17, 2006
The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) based in Virginia, USA has announced its 2006 Webber Seavey Award Finalists and Semi-Finalists.
The Webber Seavey Award for Quality in Law Enforcement promotes and recognizes quality performance by agencies around the globe. The award is named after Chief of Police Webber S. Seavey, the first president of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Seavey exemplified the dedication to the profession and problem-solving that this award honors. The award is presented annually at the International Association of Police Chief Conference to agencies that have implemented an innovative project focused on enhancing quality in law enforcement. This award allows agencies to exchange and share ideas and solutions with others public safety agencies.
Two initiatives launched by the police in Andhra Pradesh, India, have won recognition from IACP, and have been selected as Finalists for the award. One of the initiatives, Project Aasara, is an anti-trafficking program which aims to check trafficking in women and rehabilitation of women rescued from brothels.
The El Paso Police Department's Human Trafficking Task Force initiative in Texas also was recognized as a Semi-finalist in the competition.

Project aasara winner of 2006 International Civil Rights Award

International Association of Chiefs of Police
515 North Washington Street
Alexandria, VA 22314–2357
Phone: 703/836–6767; 1–800/THE IACP
Fax: 703/836–4543
Cable Address: IACPOLICE

Dear Superintendent Mahesh Bhagwat:

Law enforcement officers are often recognized and lauded for their efforts to enforce criminal law and promote public safety. Their broader role in contributing to a more just and civil society receives less recognition. Yet, everyday members of the law enforcement community protect and promote human and civil rights, consistent with the professional missions espoused by their agencies and the constitutional principles they have sworn to uphold. The IACP maintains that law enforcement agencies and officers should be recognized among the most ardent and visible champions of civil rights.

Within this spirit, our Civil Rights Committee established the IACP Civil Rights Award in Law Enforcement. This award is "…bestowed upon the law enforcement organization and/or individual who demonstrate exemplary performance in the investigation and/or prevention of civil rights crimes, the enforcement of civil rights statutes, and education efforts regarding civil rights issues."

I am pleased to notify you that the Nalgonda District Police, Government of Andhra Pradesh has been selected to receive a 2006 Civil Rights Award for your Programme Aasara. Although the committee received an unprecedented number of submissions this year, members determined that your agency’s submission is among those that most clearly exemplify the ideals that inspired this award. The Civil Rights Awards will be presented at a ceremony on October 13 in Boston at IACP’s annual conference. We hope that a representative from your department is able to attend the ceremony. IACP staff will contact you with the specific details.

Congratulations for this achievement and the outstanding example your agency provides to the law enforcement profession. I also commend you for the services you have provided to your constituency and for improving the quality of life in your community.

Sincerely,
Chief Mary Ann Viverette
IACP President

Human Trafficking -awareness against sale of baby girls

Trafficking of children and young women into the global sex trade is the third largest international criminal activity (Source: Interpol) and is a multi-billion dollar industry.Small, though significant, initiatives have been taken in recent years by variousGovt. agencies and NGOs by creating awareness on the issue, rescuing trafficked persons and getting the traffickers arrested. However, this is a mammoth task. War against slavery needs a multi-disciplinary approach. Women and Child Development, Labour, Home and External Affairs — all these agencies must move beyond rescue operations to rehabilitation.

THE HINDU

Date:13/09/2004 Andhra Pradesh

Sex racket busted in city resort

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 12. A sex racket being run in Epicurus Resorts at Nanakramguda on the city outskirts was busted by the Cyberabad police with the arrest of 65 persons, including nine women dancers and 21 sex workers, after midnight on Saturday.
Eleven luxury cars and four motorbikes belonging to the clients caught at the air-conditioned dance floor and the adjoining 20-room building were seized, the Cyberabad DCP (law and order), Mahesh M. Bhagawath, said.
While Kumar, an aide of the racket's alleged operator, M.S. Nagaraju of Banjara Hills, was taken into custody, the latter is absconding.
Well-to-do clients
The police learnt that most of the clients caught during the midnight raid that continued till the early hours of Sunday were from well-to-do families. Nagaraju was organising obscene dances by flying in girls from Delhi, Kolkata, Pune and Mumbai. He had hired the resort premises consisting of three buildings and a huge swimming pool. One of the buildings had more than 20 well-furnished rooms. Nagaraju was charged with renting out rooms to prostitutes at Rs. 1,000 each per day. Most of the prostitutes were from towns like Guntur and Vijayawada and would book the rooms through a network of mediators. "For some reason, Nagaraju was operating this racket only on Saturdays," Mr. Bhagawat said.
Obscene dances
When the 30-member police contingent swooped down on the resort premises, 21 men were found consuming liquor and watching dances being performed by 10 semi-nude girls.
"It was a huge air-conditioned hall akin to a cabaret dance floor with modern lighting and music systems," the Rajendranagar ACP, B. Narsimhulu, explained. Subsequent inspection on the adjoining building brought the sex racket to the fore.
Twenty-five men, along with 21 sex workers were picked up from the rooms.
Liquor and food was being served both at the dance floor and in the rooms for which Nagaraju was collecting additional charges. Police seized ten mobile phones from the prostitutes and launched a hunt for the middlemen involved in the racket.
`No police lapses'
Cases under section 7 (2) of A.P. Objectionable Performances Prohibition Act and section 34 (a) of A.P. Excise Act, sections 3, 4, 57 and 8 of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act and section 294 (performing obscene acts) of IPC were booked against the accused.
The Cyberabad Police Commissioner, M. Mahender Reddy, ruled out lapses on the part of Rayadurgam police in keeping a tab on such illegal activities in their jurisdiction saying they were waiting for right time to raid the resorts.
Charged earlier too
Nagaraju was president of A.P. Hotel Owners Association and arrested a year ago by the then probationer DSP Sumathi on charges of organising a brothel in the same resorts, the Rayadurgam Inspector, R. Sudarshan, said.
Almost all the clients arrested were from the city except for a few who reportedly came to attend the `garment exhibition' in the city

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Human Trafficking-Awarness against sale of infant baby girls
THE HINDU
December 11,2005

Andhra Pradesh
News: Front Page National Tamil Nadu Andhra Pradesh Karnataka Kerala New Delhi Other States International Opinion Sport Miscellaneous Advts: Classifieds Employment Andhra Pradesh - Nalgonda
Rally against female infanticide
Staff Reporter
NALGONDA: Mahila Hakkula Vedika under the aegis of Ankitha, a volunteer organisation of Miryalaguda, organised a rally here on Sunday giving a clarion call to tribal parents not to sell or kill their baby girls.
Led by Ramprasad and Koteswara Rao of Ankitha, more than 100 people participated in the rally. They raised slogans against female infanticide.
The organisation's representatives and volunteers covered more than 50 hamlets and villages since November 25 before taking out a rally in the town. They also organised a photo exhibition to highlight the problem.
Addressing a meeting at Ambedkar bhavan, Superintendent of Police M.M. Bhagwat said that selling of girl children was a social evil. "I don't think that they sell kids owing to poverty," he said and warned of booking cases against those who sell or kill their infants

THE HINDU
Tuesday December 06,2005

Joining hands for a cause

Lambada women organize rally to create aware among
community members on sale of girl children, female foeticide.

Staff Reporter
_______
Nalgonda : More than 500 persons, predominantly Lambada tribals, attended a public meeting organized by a non-governmental organization, Appropriate Technology Foundation (ATF), to created awareness among them about the sale of girl children at Devarakonda on Sunday.
Dressed in traditional attire the Lambada women danced along the four-km rally that was taken out from the ATF office at Dindi Road to the venue of the meeting, a private college in the town.
They formed a human chain at the centre of the town to attract the centre of the town to attract the public’s attention and stood for a while at every private clinic to raise slogans against abortion. “ It was an impressive rally and meeting and we hope we could send across a strong message among tribals of the Devarakonda division,” ATF Area Managers S. Nagaraju and T.V.
Devamani told the Hindu.

Superintendent of Police M.M. Bhagwat who participated in the rally asked the tribals to stop resorting to killing or selling of their baby girls. “If you don’t want children, don’t give birth to them. You will land in trouble if you resort to such in human practices.” He warned them.

Poster released
Mr. Bhagwat called for an integrated approach to the problem with active involvement of all departments. He released a poster brought out by the Police Department.
A tribal woman, Bujji of Neredugomma in Chandampet mandal, asked her tribe to plan their families. “Our tribe earned a bad name due to the sale of girl children. Please go for family planning.” She said,
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NDTV.COM
Baby girl sold for Rs 1,800 in Andhra
Uma Sudhir
Monday, August 22, 2005 (Hyderabad):
Five years after an international baby-selling racket was uncovered in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh, nothing much seems to have changed on the ground. A baby girl sold this month for Rs 1,800 by her parents was recovered by the police from a home in Hyderabad. The case has shown the route and destination may have changed but that baby girls are still bought and sold like commodities.Hit by povertyThe three-month-old baby girl Shwetha was sold a couple of weeks ago for Rs 1,800 because her parents decided they could not afford to look after a third girl child."All three of my children are girls. I have too many debts. So I gave away my baby. We don't have a house to live in, no food, no clothes. We thought we could not feed or bring up the child. They would look after her well, so I gave her away," said Swapna, mother of the baby girl.Shwetha's family lives in a tribal hamlet in the backward Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh that became notorious five years ago because baby girls from here were being routinely sold through middlemen to be traded in the international adoption market."No, we have not undergone a family planning operation. If a girl is born, I will be forced to sell her once again," said Lavudiya Kanya, father of the baby.Apathetic parentsThe police recovered Shwetha from a childless couple in Hyderabad who had bought the baby through a mediator."Sometimes parents are taking the plea that just because of poverty we are selling. But I am not going to spare anybody, mediator or parents where they are selling just because it is a baby girl," said Mahesh Bhagwat, SP, Nalgonda.Hardly three months of coming into this world, Shwetha has seen more than she should. The baby was not wanted by her father. Her mother could not or did not do enough to keep her. She was rescued by a well-meaning police force from a family who would have perhaps showered her with the love and affection she deserves. She is now being sent to the government-run Shishu Vihar where she joins a long list of children waiting for a loving home.
http://www.ndtv.com/morenews/showmorestory.asp?slug=Baby+girl+sold+for+Rs+1%2C800+in+AP&id=77744
NDTV
PROFIT
Gender bias: Mother sells girl child
Sunil PatilSaturday, September 11, 2004 (Hyderabad):The Census report has revealed that mindset against the girl child is still prevalent even today.In several states across the country, the girl child is being eliminated systematically, resulting in a distorted sex ratio.In one such instance, an eight-day-old girl child was allegedly sold by her parents because of poverty in Hyderabad. But what is most shocking is that the mother gave birth to twins and decided to keep the male child. Prejudice prevalentRuth's misfortune was that she had teeth from the day she was born. And this was enough to make her superstitious parents sell her off for Rs 6000, two weeks after she was born. "The mother has decided to keep the male child because there is more prejudice against the girl child," says M K R Vijayakumari, deputy director, Women and Child Welfare department. Child welfare officials rescued the girl child after receiving reports of her sale. But when they took her to her home in Nalgonda district, her parents refused to take her back. However, the mother agreed to let the government offer her for adoption.Rampant saleCases of the girl child being sold off have been reported earlier also from the Lambada tribe in Nalgonda district. Nearly 66 such cases were registered with the authorities last year. "Previously it happened only in Lambada Thanda's of the surrounding areas in Devarkonda area, slowly it has come to the SC colonies and other areas also," says S Ramaswamy, Deputy Director, Women and Child Welfare Department.Ruth is now being taken care of in an orphanage but her case is not an isolated one. It is a reminder of just how many girls are discarded as unwanted by their families in a patriarchal society.
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World AIDS day celebration 1st, December 2005
THE HINDU
2nd December,2005
Andhra Pradesh
Police organise mega health camp in Nalgonda
Staff Reporter
Medical Shops' Association distributes medicines free of cost
PRIORITY ISSUE: Schoolgirls taking out a rally to mark World AIDS Day in Nalgonda on Thursday.
NALGONDA: The district police organised a mega health camp on the premises of Yadagirigutta police station to mark the World AIDS Day on Thursday. Nine doctors examined over 300 patients, according to a press release. The Medical Shops' Association distributed medicines to the needy free of cost.
Addressing the gathering, Divisional Superintendent of Police V.V. Narasinga Rao said that the police were in forefront in taking up social issues such as AIDS for a healthy society. He explained to the gathering the initiative launched by SP M.M. Bhagwat to wipe out prostitution from the temple town.

Aasara means support or shelter or help to them who want to change the branded life.

The Hindu
12/11/2005
Couple held for `buying' infant
Staff Reporter

IN MAMA'S LAP: Islawath Lakshmi with her 15-day-old baby at the District Police Office at Nalgonda on Friday. Aruna, who `purchased' the infant, is also seen.

NALGONDA: A poverty-stricken tribal couple — Islawath Jagapathi and Lakshmi — of Gudi thanda in Devarakonda mandal in Nalgonda district allegedly sold off their 15-day-old baby to a couple hailing from Karnataka two days ago.
But, following a tip-off, the Devarakonda police swung into action and arrested Lakshmi and the couple on Friday. M.M. Bhagwat, SP, told reporters that Gunja China Ramu (21) and Aruna (19) of Alli village of Gulbarga district in Karnataka `purchased' the fourth daughter of the tribal couple for Rs.1,500 at Gouridevikunta.
"Our police party intercepted the couple at Mallepally and recovered the infant," the SP said. The police launched a manhunt to nab Jagapathi and his brother Raju, who allegedly brokered the deal.
According to Mr. Bhagwat, China Ramu, a petty vendor, befriended Raju at a hotel in Mallepally and told him that he wanted to `buy' a baby. Raju told him about his brother's newborn baby and managed to convince Jagapathi and Lakshmi to sell their daughter. The `transaction' was arranged at Gouridevikunta, native place of Lakshmi, the SP said.
"We are probing the motive behind the purchase of the girl. A thorough enquiry will be done to check the veracity of the couple's claim on adopting the girl," he said.
Ramu told newsmen that he really wanted to adopt the girl. "My mother has been pestering us for having failed to conceive in the three years of our marriage."
Criminal case booked
A criminal case was booked against the trio under Section 372 (sale of girl under the age of 18 for unlawful purposes) of the Indian Penal Code. "We are booking the same case against the tribal parents to send out a strong signal in the community," the SP observed. The SP appreciated Devarakonda Inspector K. Manohar and his team for cracking the case

Wtiteup on Project aasara in savvy magazine

Aasara means support or shelter or help to them who want to change the branded life.
Out Of The Flesh Trap
SP Mahesh Bhagwat has shattered the Dommara tribe’s tradition in Andhra Pradesh of forcing their girls into becoming prostitutes. Nandini R Penna reports.
The hi-tech state of Andhra Pradesh has recently been identified as a high supply zone for sending girls for sex trade all over the country. According to statistics, 45 per cent of the prostitutes in New Delhi, 28 per cent in Mumbai and 80 per cent in Goa belong to this tech-savvy state. And one such area where this ‘supply’ leaves the Andhra Pradesh shores is from the temple town, Yadigirigutta in Nalgonda district, which is just 60 kms away from Hyderabad. The sex workers, known as Venkatasanis who belong to the Dommara community, are spread over the tribal regions of Telangana, including Warangal, Nizamabad, Medak, Karimnagar and Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh. Women from this community have been sex workers for generations and the men of the community are generally their pimps. Traditionally, even thinking of any other profession besides prostitution is considered a sin for the 150 families living there. Policing TraditionIn the face of this age-old tradition, policing this practice has been one of the major problems faced by the police and social workers of the state for a very long time. But Mahesh Bhagwat (IPS), Superintendent of Police of Nalgonda district, Andhra Pradesh, and winner of the coveted ‘International Community Policing Award’, has taken up the challenge to rehabilitate women forced into this flesh trade. Says he, “In a raid conducted in the vicinity of Yadigirigutta, around 98 prostitutes were arrested. We spoke to the women and many of them told us that if given a chance, they do not want to be sex workers.“What was more horrifying was that though there were at least six to seven able-bodied male members in each household, they were all dependent on the women. These men do not want to work and getting their women into prostitution, is definitely an easy way of acquiring money.” Help At HandIt was only after that raid that Mahesh started ‘Project Aasra’ to fight and eradicate this problem. Says he, “This problem needed a humanitarian approach and that is when ‘Project Aasra’ came into being. ‘Aasra’ means shelter and that was what I wanted to provide — a safe place for these women so that they could live a decent life without harassment from pimps and others.” Joining hands with him were NGOs DRDA (District Rural Development Agency), Panchayati Raj, Women and Child Welfare Department, LABS (Livelihood and Business School, which belongs to the famous Dr Reddy’s Labs), State Bank of Hyderabad, Red Cross and the BC (Backward Class) Corporation, and a shelter was made to house these women. With Rs 3.5 lakh from DRDA’s ‘Indira Kranti Patham’, the rehabilitated women were given vocational training in making agarbattis, leaf plates and small leaf cups to serve prasadam at the famed Yadigirgutta shrine of Narasimha Swamy. All these products are then supplied to the temple under a buy-back scheme.
http://www.savvy.co.in/display_Standard.asp?section=savvyspecials&subsection=exclusive&xml=October2005_exclusive_standard39