Protocol for Pre rescue & post rescue for sex trafficking victim

PROTOCOL FOR PRE-RESCUE, RESCUE AND POST-RESCUE OPERATIONS OF CHILD VICTIM OF TRAFFICKING FOR COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION


I. GUIDELINES FOR STATE GOVERNMENTS

1. Develop an Anti-Trafficking Policy specifying victim’s friendly provisions and structures.
2. Create an Anti-Trafficking Cell at the State and District level to co-ordinate with other relevant Departments and NGOs on the issues pertaining to trafficking, especially on the rescue and rehabilitation of child victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.
3. Create a Database on traffickers, brothel owners, informants, decoy customers, number of cases registered, status of each case, source and destination areas in the State/District and any other relevant information. The information in the Database should be kept confidential and should be parted only to genuine information seekers.
4. Form Community Vigilant Groups (CVGs) at the Community Level. The CVGs can help in rescue and rehabilitation of victims at the community level.
5. Assign sufficient number of police personnel especially women Police personnel for the rescue operations.
6. Prominently display signboards in hotels, tourist places, restaurants, beaches, airports, bus stands, railway stations and other susceptible places, warning people against trafficking and use of children for commercial sexual exploitation. In case, any child is seen under suspicious circumstances in these places, the informant should inform the Police/childline/ NGO immediately.
7. Repatriate the victim from the Destination State to the Home State. The State would be responsible for transportation and the State Government would meet all expenses towards travel for the victim and escort, food and incidental. The State Government should provide a separate budget for repatriation of the victims.
8. Give adequate publicity, through both print and electronic media, on child-lines and women help-lines over a sustained period of time.
9. Declare names of fit people and fit institutions, where victims of trafficking can be kept in safe custody. The list should be circulated to all Police Head Quarters, Police Stations at State and District Levels, Courts and NGOs.
10. Declare fit institutions where mentally challenged or ill child victims and women can be kept in safe custody and proper medical treatment can be provided.
11. Issue directives that all Court proceedings related to child victims of trafficking are carried out in-camera.
12. Assign trained Child Welfare Officers in every Police Station.
13. Every Police Station should have separate clean and hygienic toilet (s) for women.

II. FOR RESCUE TEAM MEMBERS

A. STRATEGY FOR PRE-RESCUE OPERATIONS

i. For Rescue of Trafficked Child Vicitms
• Cultivate networks of informants who will provide specific information about trafficked under-aged child victims (below 18 years) or woman willing to be rescued from brothels. Specific information may be in the form of letters, emails, photographs, personality traits, identification marks and scars, addresses, physical presence of relatives and people known to child victim, computer graphics generated by the description and mannerisms (e.g. accent, distinctive body language like frequent rubbing of fingers, blinking of eyes or any other). It is desirable, that a small remuneration is paid to the informant, which sustains their motivation.
• Identify the child victim by the use of decoy customers and authenticate the available information. The decoy customer should try to motivate the child to talk on a one-to-one basis and to facilitate further rescue operations.
• Involve an NGOs and Social Workers in Rescue operations carried out by the Police or the Community.
• Prepare a strategic plan for rescue operation with minimum loss of time. The plan should include the following: -

1. Compilation of all available valid information. For example, physical layout of the brothels and hideouts, specific characteristics of the location, etc. Seek help of key informants people such as petty-shop owners, sweepers, part-time maids, milkmen or any other persons who may provide their service to the brothels/hide-outs, local contractors and builders who would know the layout of the brothels/hide-outs.
2. Rescue team, preferably trained, should consists of the designated Special Police Officer as defined under Section 13 of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956, Assistant Commissioner of Police and/or District Commissioner of Police, police personnel including women, NGO representative and social worker. The number of rescue team members should be constituted depending on the size (number of brothels/victims) of the rescue operation.
3. Maintain confidentiality and secrecy of the rescue operation, all members of the rescue operation should gather at a commonplace or location at least 2 hours before the actual rescue operation.
4. To prevent leakage of information, prior to the actual rescue operation, mobile phones and any other mode(s) of communication belonging to the rescue operation team members should be taken in custody by the rescue team leader.
5. The strategy that would be adopted for the rescue operations and its various steps should be explained at this time. To each team member, explain his/her role in the rescue operation and clear any doubts that she/he may have.
6. Preparing key players: Formation of teams would depend upon the situation and targeted number of brothels to be covered and expected number of minors to be recovered.
7. Under no circumstances should the decoy customer(s) be exposed before, during and after the rescue operations.
8. Under no circumstances should the rescue operation be revealed to any person (s) other than those directly involved”. If by any chance, the media does happen to get word of it, they should not be allowed to cover the rescue operation.
9. Check /verify vacancies available in Government and other certified Homes, so that the rescued victims can be taken to the appropriate Homes for safe custody. This should be done in total confidentiality, so that any information on the rescue operation is not leaked.
10. Before conducting rescue operations, all police formalities should be completed.
11. During the rescue operations, the rescue team members should not physically touch the girls, women, or their belongings. Only female members of the rescue team should deal with the victims.
12. During the rescue operations, no rescue team members should use abusive language towards the girls and women.
ii. Rescue Operation at a Community Level

• The community should be sensitized about trafficking, the harm resulting out of this exploitative situation and what to do in case they have knowledge of such an incident. Community members should be motivated to keep a watch in the community for irregular movement of child victims to and from the area, their possible traffickers and hideouts.
• The Community members should immediately provide information on suspicious people or to the nearest NGO working on rescue of trafficked victims. In absence of an NGO, the nearest police station may be informed.
• Involve community group in rehabilitation of the victim, if he/she is from the same community.


B. STRATEGY FOR RESCUE OPERATIONS

1. Planned rescue operations should be carried out on brothel communities.
2. Place the rescue team members in strategic location as pre-planned for the rescue operation, before entering the brothel/community,
3. Immediately go to the place/area where the child is being kept/confined.
4. Remove the Child from the brothel/community as quickly as possible. He/She should collect all his/her belongings. In case, she has a child or children of her own, make sure that she is not separated from them.
5. Treat the child victim with sympathy and not as a criminal.
6. Remove any mentally-challenged or ill child victim or woman in the brothel, irrespective of their age.
7. Be aware of your body language and do not make any unnecessary contact, unwelcome gesture, use physical force, cause physical harm, use vulgar or inappropriate language to any inmates of the brothel.
8. Seize/collect all records showing expenses/income/payment/financial transactions and any other important document from the brothel owners, as they would form important piece of material evidence in the Court.
9. Identification of the victims should be kept confidential, her name, address, photograph or any other information should not be published in any newspaper, magazine, news-sheet or visual media. This is mandatory as per Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
10. Identity and location of decoy customer should be kept confidential.
11. The rescue team members should be accountable to the rescue team leader and any violation of the rights of the victim should be dealt in appropriate manner.


C. STRATEGY FOR POST-RESCUE OPERATIONS

1. Separate the victims by sight and sound from the accused. While taking the child victim to the Police Station, the child and brothel owners/traffickers should be taken in a separate vehicle. If this is not possible, they should be kept separate from each other. This is to prevent the accused from threatening or intimidating the child.
2. Do not keep the child in the lock-up under any circumstances. The victim should be immediately taken to a certified place of safety after the raid. The victim is not an accused person and should not receive the same treatment as the accused. Keep her separately from the brothel owners/traffickers.
3. Document the rescue operation in the diary, in presence of two independent reliable witnesses and get it signed by them for authentication.
4. The First Information Report (FIR) should be immediately registered by the victims or NGO in the Police Station and it should contains details of location of crime, description of offence, victim and accused, chronology of crime right from the time the child was trafficked. The FIR should be as detailed as possible. The child should receive a copy of the FIR and it should be kept in safe custody of the NGO/Protective/children Home, where the child is kept.
5. Invoke all relevant Sections of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956 and Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000 against the trafficker and brothel owners.
6. Hand over the Child to a representative from the Protective/Children Home run by either the Government or NGO. The child should be counseled about her stay in protective custody and that she has been kept there for her safety and well being.
7. It is important to ensure the following: -

• Only Plain-clothes police accompany the child to the Protective/Children Home.
• The functionaries of the Protective/Children Home should ensure that the child does not come in contact with its traffickers, pimps, brothel owners or any such persons, who may have bad influence on him/her.
• The medical examination, including age verification test is carried out properly and scientifically. The age verification test is mandatory as per Section 15 b (5A) of Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, 1956 and Section 49 of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.
• The child victim is produced before the Child Welfare Committee within 24 hrs of taking him/her into custody. In case, the Child Welfare Committee is not available, then he/she should be produced before concerned Magistrate for relief.
• The child has immediate access to standardized counseling, health care and legal aid. On behalf of the victim, the Personnel from the NGO, including Social Worker or Protective/Children Home should sign the vakalatnama (or the consent for a lawyer’s representation).
• A social worker accompanies the child whenever he/she leaves the place of safety.
• A counselor is present whenever a child is giving testimony in the Court.
• The concerned Magistrate or the members of the competent authority as the case may be, visits the rescue home once in every fifteen days to conduct legal proceedings.
• The child is prepared by explaining to him/her about court proceedings, so that he/she is aware of the procedures and is mentally well prepared. After every hearing of the case, the child should be informed about the court order, if any, so that he/she is kept fully updated on his/her case.
• It is recommended that trafficking cases be fast tracked under Speedy Trial to reduce the trauma and suffering of the child.



D. STRATEGY FOR REHABILITATION (for functionaries in the Protective/Children Home)

1. Ensure that the child is informally welcomed and is introduced to other residents and shown around. She should be shown to her room and her locker where she can keep her personnel belongings. It is advisable that for the first few days, she should be given space for privacy and if possible kept separately from the others or with those who have been rescued like her.
2. Provide a welcome kit that includes a change of clothes, towel, undergarments, chappals/slippers and toiletries (soap, oil, hair brush/comb, tooth brush, paste, powder, rubber band, shampoo, sanitary napkins etc.), to the child on arrival.
3. Explain to him/her the rules and regulation of the Protective/Children Homes and their objectives, once he/she settles down,. This will make him/her feel comfortable and secure in his/her new environment. Also, explain to the child his/her responsibilities and duties during his/her stay in the Home.
4. A registered medical doctor should examine the child for any ailments, allergies, skin rashes and psychological disorders or problems. Routine blood, urine, lung X-rays and stool tests should be carried out. In case, the child is suffering from any aliment, she should be given appropriate medication as prescribed by the doctor and there should be continuous follow-up on her condition.
5. Talk to the child and find out whether he/she is interested in continuing with her education and accordingly, admit him/her to a regular school or make arrangements for non-formal education or tutoring so that she can catch up with his/her studies. In any case, the child should be given some basic education which will help his/her to be independent when he/she leaves the Home.
6. Provide the child with vocational training, including marketing strategies that are marketable, sustainable and practical. (Please check that providing a child with vocational training and marketing strategies is not contravening any child rights or child labor laws).
7. Prepare the Child for his/her repatriation/integration with his/her family. No rescued child should be sent back to his/her family without ensuring social acceptance, family support, to prevent re-trafficking and further exploitation.

Delhi Magistrate booked under Immoral Trafficking Act

• Delhi Magistrate booked under Immoral Trafficking Act

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STAFF WRITER
19:52 HRS IST
Panipat, Aug 27 (PTI)
A Metropolitan Magistrate from Delhi and three others, including a young girl, were today booked under the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act by Haryana police.

R K Aggarwal, posted in Tis Hazari Court, was detained and two other acquaintances and a girl were arrested after police raided a house at Samalakha's Punjabi colony in Panipat following a tip-off, Investigating Officer (IO) Inspector Satpal Malik said.

The three "picked up the girl from Delhi-Karnal bypass" and brought her to the rented house where the police "caught the accused red-handed," he said.

Aggarwal, his acquaintance Subhash Dhuvan, Dhuvan's Hisar-based relative Shamsher and the girl, who hails from Kolkata, have been booked under the Act, the IO sai

CBI: Tirupati, Shirdi in Nexus Too

Human traffickinjg - Tirupati, Shirdi in Nexus Too
By: Anshuman G Dutta
Date: 2009-05-21
They are traditional soul-cleansing destinations. But pilgrim towns Benaras, Tirupati and Shirdi have instead become hubs of global human traffickingNineteen-year-old Seema (name changed to protect her identity) had come to Benaras on a pilgrimage. It was the city's religious importance that had persuaded her parents in Nepal to allow their young daughter to travel to a foreign country.
Sin City: Pilgrims at one of the ghats of BenarasBut instead of angels, Seema met the demons here. She was held captive, gang-raped and then pushed into the flesh trade.Fortunately, Seema was rescued by an NGO and a group of students from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) who have decided to cleanse the holy city's unholy underbelly.Non-government orgnisations working in Benaras say 500 to 700 girls are brought to the city from Nepal and Bangladesh to be pushed into the flesh trade every year. Later, these girls are taken to Mumbai, Delhi and other metropolitan cities. That's not all. Between 20,000 and 40,000 people are brought here to work as bonded labourers while about 1,000 children are turned into beggars every year.But Benaras is not the only Indian town of religious importance that has become a ripe picking ground for human traffickers. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has revealed cities like Benaras, Tirupati and Shirdi attract human traffickers who find easy targets from among the large number of people who visit these places.
Hotbed Benaras "Seema was only 17 when she was brought to Benaras. She fought her captors and resisted even in the face of near-starvation and physical torture. But her will snapped after she was gang-raped by the members of a human trafficking racket," said Dr Lenin Suryavanshi, director, People's Vigilance Commission on Human Resource, one of the most prominent NGOs working in Benaras.According to Suryavanshi, the Benaras-based gangs "cater" to clients in all the big cities of the country. Children and girls are also brought to Benaras from Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa.
"While most of them are forced into prostitution and begging, many are made to work as bonded labourers as well. Many of them work in the bricks kilns around Benaras," said Suryavanshi.The CBI and NGOs also informed that the racket is thriving between Benaras and Mughalsarai. "There is no denying that human trafficking is rampant in these parts but no own knows how deep-rooted it is. Regular raids are being carried out but the police hardly get any proof as the gangs keep moving along with the kids and girls," said a senior police official from Benaras, wishing anonymity.CBI has an eye on Tirupati and ShirdiThe CBI, in a recently conducted seminar on human trafficking, revealed that religious towns like Benaras are happy hunting grounds for international gangs as well.
"India is being used as source, transit point and destination by global human traffickers," said CBI director Ashwani Kumar at the seminar, organised in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC).A senior CBI official was more specific. "Benaras and Tirupati are two of the most active destinations for both inter-country and intra-country human trafficking. All kind of human trafficking networks child labour, flesh trade and begging rackets are being operated from these cities," said the officer."There is a complete list of religious places from where begging and prostitution gangs are operating. Shirdi is one such town in western India where gangs force children and women into begging," he added.Another senior CBI official said that the investigating body is actively monitoring these religious places to take stock of the situation."So far no one knows the exact strength of the trafficking rackets being operated from these cities. It's being run in connivance with international gangs," he said, wishing not to be named.Unholy factsNGOs working in Benaras say 500 to 700 girls are brought to the city from Nepal and Bangladesh for prostitution every year. Between 20,000 and 40,000 people are brought here to work as bonded labourers, while about 1,000 kids are turned into beggars.
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Eunuch convicted for raping minor

Eunuch convicted for raping minor
15 May 2009, 1650 hrs IST, PTI
MUMBAI: The sessions court on Friday sentenced a eunuch to ten years rigorous imprisonment on charges of raping a minor girl and immoral trafficking. Additional sessions judge P V Ganediwala convicted the eunuch Rekha Lamb (42), who has been diagnosed with AIDS, on charges of rape and under various sections of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act. Another accused, Sarfaraj Siddiqui (23), who had paid Rekha to sleep with a minor girl, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the court. On February 16, 2007 the Trombay police had raided Rekha's residence in suburban Chembur and had found Siddiqui and a minor girl in the front room in a compromising position and Rekha in the kitchen with another minor girl. According to the statement of one of the girls, she used to do household chores at Rekha's house since last year when one day Rekha raped her. Since last three to four months, Rekha has been getting customers to her house for sexual favours with the two girls, the prosecution has said. Public prosecutor Usha Kiran Makasare examined nine witnesses in the case including the two girls and Rekha's neighbour who had informed the police about the racket.

Trafficking of Indian ladies to Middle East

Date:30/06/2008
Andhra Pradesh -
Kadapa Three held on charge of human trafficking
Special Correspondent
KADAPA: Rayachoti police arrested Pasupuleti Veera Nagaiah, Jeelani and Mahaboob Basha and remanded them on charges of resorting to human trafficking, Kadapa Superintendent of Police Mahesh M. Bhagwat said on Sunday. The police are making efforts to apprehend Nazeer, who was allegedly involved in trafficking of women to Kuwait in the past.
A 40-year-old woman victim (whose name the police withheld) of Gorlamudivedu village in Rayachoty had approached Pasupuleti Veera Nagaiah collected Rs. 40,000 from her promising to send her to Kuwait as a maid servant. He sent her to Kuwait through an unauthorised agent Jeelani of Rayachoty and his brother Mahaboob Basha, the SP told a press conference. In Kuwait, Nazeer, another brother of Jeelani, sold the victim to a brothel house, where she was confined for 10 days along with some other women, he stated. The victim managed to escape through a bathroom window of the brothel house and approached the police station and were jailed as they did not possess relevant documents, he said. Complaint lodged
The victim and another woman of Rayachoti and three women of West Godavari contacted the Indian Embassy and they were sent back to India, Mr. Bhagwat stated. The victim lodged a complaint and on its basis, Rayachoti Urban police registered a case under section 420 IPC, section 24 (1) AP Immigration Act, sections 3, 4 and 5 of Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act against Jeelani, Pasupuleti Veera Nagaiah, Mahaboob Basha of Rayachoty and Nazeer, resident of Kuwait, the SP said.
He appealed to people not to approach unauthorised agents. People aspiring to go abroad should obtain insurance from Pravasa Bharathi Bima Yojana. They could contact the Indian Embassy in Kuwait if they encountered problems

Prostitution of boys at India's pilgrim sites called rampant

Prostitution of boys at India's pilgrim sites called rampant
By DPAMar 10, 2009, 10:16 GMT
New Delhi - Sexual exploitation of boys in three of India's major pilgrimage centres is pervasive and on the rise, a study released Tuesday said.
The study focused on male children in prostitution at Hindu temple sites of Puri in eastern Orissa state and Tirupati and Guruvayoor in southern Andhra Pradesh and Kerala states.
It was conducted by Ecpat, an international network that aims to stop sexual exploitation of children, and Indian non-governmental organization Equations.
The study found that in these centres, development of tourism had led to sexual exploitation of children, in the form of child abuse, child trafficking, child prostitution, child sex tourism and child pornography.
'There is a dearth of information on male child sexual exploitation and prostitution due to the assumption that most sexual exploiters are men and therefore their victims are women or girls. However, this is not true,' said S Vidya, a coordinator with the Equations.
'The double standards that society has about homosexuality and the fact that it is criminalized in India only makes the problem less visible.'
In Tirupati, which receives mostly Indians, a survey of boys aged between 6 and 18 years revealed that sexual abuse of boys is rampant due to demand from domestic tourists. Pressure on boys to earn a living for the family was cited as a reason why they were forced into prostitution.
'Family members saw less risk when male children are involved in selling sex as compared to girls, as the social stigma is less and the fear of pregnancy does not exist,' the report said.
In Puri, boys interviewed reported that both domestic and foreign tourists were involved in the sexual exploitation.
'A number of massage parlours and health clubs have mushroomed in Puri that primarily cater to foreign and domestic tourists, where prostitution takes place involving both adults and children,' the study said.
In Guruvayoor, child sexual abuse was less visible but discussions with locals revealed that several boys were involved in prostitution, selling sex to domestic tourists and locals.
The groups urged the Indian government to set up agencies to safeguard children and tighten laws to stop child sex tourism, including severe punishment for convicted offenders

Trafficking: Lens on women's role

Trafficking: Lens on women's role
8 Mar 2009, 0505 hrs IST,

Ratnottama Sengupta, TNN
KOLKATA: In Bappaditya Bandopadhyay's Kaal, a male actor inducts four helpless young females into the flesh trade. In Hollywood films Human Trafficking and Trade, again, it's men Russians, Mexicans, Poles, Czechs, Filipinos who steal, trick, lure, lock up, brutalize, and repeatedly sell women mothers, daughters, sisters, even wives.

Typically, organized crime is a male activity, right? Not really, says United Nation's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, released to mark International Women's Day. Men make up over 90% of the prison populations of most countries. They are perpetrators of the most violent crimes, terror acts, drug-related horrors. Surprisingly, data from 46 countries suggest for the first time that women play key roles in human trafficking, a trade where two-thirds of the victims are women, and about 13% are girls. Estimates suggest that close to 8 million women and children are trafficked around the world, and two-thirds of these are in the sex trade.

The term sex worker' hides the fact that few choose it as a career option where legislations regarding minimum standards of wages don't apply.

A woman's price varies with age, and there are no retirement benefits. Instead, they face brutalities, forced penetration, repeated abortion, insomnia, even AIDS. The worst part is that the victims' are apprehended as criminals, while the traffickers and buyers of sex get away scot-free. Sexual exploitation is by far the most common form 79% of trafficking, the third most lucrative after trade in arms and drugs. It's the most visible in city centres and along highways, be it in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangkok, Berlin, London or New York.

But by no means is it the only form of forced labour. We know of slumdogs forced to beg on Indian streets, or of bonded labour. How many know about those used in warfare, or for organ removal? "We are unable to segment today's slave market'," says Antonio Maria Costa, ED, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Break-ups say little about demand and supply, or about relative prices of children used for begging or for rag-tag armies of killers. What pushes illegal immigrants into American sweatshops?

"It is unclear whether the enterprises' are driven by compulsions in source countries or demands in destinations," says Costa. However, the report as much as the films in the festival, that was hosted by Apne Aap, American Center and ICCR, reveals that in source countries, locals win the trust and acquire victims, then control them by threatening retaliation against kids and aged parents. In high-income destinations, though, the offenders are more likely to be foreigners.

"Diaspora population from source regions is often the conduit for moving victims," Costa said. Care for some more revelations? Many African countries have no law against trafficking, or criminalize only child trafficking. In India, while sex with a minor is punished as rape, women victims are penalized for soliciting'. Not all high-income countries have comprehensive legislation, either. So, "the fight against the lucrative exploitation of fellow humans essentially remains an individual national initiative," said Costa.

Giving a purpose to life

Giving a purpose to life
D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao

Sharmila goes all out to help young girls caught in the pincer grip of prostitution rings

Proud moment: Probationary sub-divisional police officer G. Janaki Sharmila receiving cash award from Superintendent of Police Mahesh M Bhagwat.

KHAMMAM: Chasing leads on flesh trade gangs, she entered places where even her male peers would hesitate to venture into. Putting herself often at risk by confronting people of all sorts, she proved that she was made out to shoulder special tasks and not the mundane stuff.
G. Janaki Sharmila, a probationary sub divisional police officer has been in the thick of action grabbing attention of the media and the public during her brief stint of six months in the district. Her main target
Ms. Sharmila has gone all out helping young girls caught in the pincer grip of prostitution rings that enjoyed the patronage of powerful clientele. Brothels luring poor girls into prostitution were her targets and she is thankful to her bosses for tasking her with the drive against human trafficking.
An Intermediate student forced into prostitution by a notorious gang along with a girl of the same age group was rescued by the police team led by Ms. Sharmila on December 24 last. The two girls were considered for special assistance by the administration, thus enabling them to lead a normal life.
Another gang in the flesh trade trapped a teenaged girl from a village in the district cashing in on her urge to make it big in life. The girl was in for a rude shock to know that she was pregnant. Khammam accounts for a good number of cases of forced prostitution and gullible women are being lured into the racket.
There is some let-up now, thanks to the crackdown, which is mainly because of this gutsy woman in uniform.
Quick and to the point in conversation, she says she joined the police service with a purpose by topping the Group 1 examination.
She gave up a job with a handsome package of Rs. 12 lakh in the HRD wing of a software company because of her “urge to reach out the helpless.” She lost her one-year-old child Snigdha in a road accident at Nagarjunagar in 2004.
This turned out to be her moment of transformation.

Delhi High Court orders probe into child trafficking

Delhi High Court orders probe into child trafficking
New Delhi, Jan 22 (ANI): Concerned over the increasing number of child trafficking cases, the Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered senior police officials to investigate the case and present the results by Friday.
A division bench of Chief Justice AP Shah and Justice Sanjeev Khanna said, "This is a very serious matter and needs to be investigated by a senior level officer of the Delhi police".
The court heard Public Interest Litigation filed by the NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan blamed the placement agencies for the illegal trafficking of girls and advised compulsory registration of all such agencies.
Senior lawyers H S Phoolka and Kavita Tiwari, advocating for the NGO, told the bench that the girls were forced into prostitution and the boys into illegal activities.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan, in early January, claimed of rescuing thirty-five girls and four boys from various placement agencies in the capital.
Though child trafficking is growing rapidly in India, there is no reliable data available on the issue in India.
According to figures provided by the National Crime Records Bureau, in 2004, as many as 2,265 cases of kidnapping and abduction of children qualified as forms of trafficking and were reported to the police.
Of these, 1,593 cases were of kidnapping for marriage, 414 were for illicit sex, 92 for unlawful activity, 101 for prostitution and the rest for various other things like slavery, beggary and even selling body parts.
Most of these children (72 per cent) were between sixteen and eighteen years of age. Twenty-five per cent were children aged eleven to fifteen years.
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are the states from where the maximum numbers of children are trafficked to other states.
Intra state/inter district trafficking is high in the states of Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra while States like Delhi and Goa are ‘receiver’ states.
Trafficking of children from the North-Eastern states of India and the bordering countries in the north-east is a serious issue but has so far not drawn public attention.
Children are trafficked for several reasons including sexual exploitation; adoption; entertainment and sports (for example, acrobatics in circus, dance troupes, beer bars; as camel jockeys); marriage; labour; begging, organ trade (though only anecdotal evidence of this is available); drug peddling and smuggling. (ANI)

Video on recue of teenaged girls

Follow the link
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=OL8hTxIMfnA

Human trafficking- One more girl rescued by Khammam Police

Date:04/01/2009

Andhra Pradesh - Khammam One more girl rescued
Staff Reporter
KHAMMAM: A police party led by the probationary DSP, G. Janaki Sharmila on Saturday freed a girl from forced prostitution by arresting three persons, including a woman and her son, on the charge of running a brothel and indulging in trafficking.
Disclosing this at a press conference, Khammam DSP P. Rameshaiah said the girl was rescued when she was being handed over to another person at a lodge in the town.
The accused, including the 52-year-old Velpula Jayamma and her son, both of Gollagudem village, were arrested on the spot.
Two girls, including the one who was freed in the day, were in the captivity of the accused for quite some time.
Three mobile phones, an auto rickshaw and a motor cycle were seized from the accused

Man gets RI for forcing minor into flesh-trade

Man gets RI for forcing minor into flesh-trade
22 Dec 2008, 0459 hrs IST, TNN
PUNE: Additional sessions judge T M Jahagirdhar on Saturday sentenced brothel owner Sonal Roy (34) of Nepal to five-year rigorous imprisonment for inducing a minor girl into prostitution. In March last year, activists Somling Kamble and James Varghese of US-based organisation Freedom Firm received a tip-off that a minor girl has been induced into prostitution in the red-light district in Budhwar Peth. The activists, with the help of sub-inspector Gajanan Pawar of the Faraskhana police, rescued the 16-year-old victim on March 16, 2007. Roy, who had "bought" the girl from an unidentified woman, was arrested under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act. Additional public prosecutor C G Kulkarni examined six witnesses to establish Roy's guilt. Of the six, the panch witness had turned hostile. Rohit Takawane, the lawyer appointed by Freedom Firm to assist Kulkarni, said after the trial that the organisation had flown the victim to Pune from West Bengal to depose in court. Freedom Firm works to prevent child abuse, Takawane said.

Human trafficking network busted in Khammam

THE HINDU
Regional
Human trafficking network busted in Khammam
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 : 1830 Hrs

Hyderabad (PTI): Andhra Pradesh police have busted a human trafficking network and rescued three girls while arresting seven persons including six women involved in the racket in Khammam district.
The rescued girls including a second year Intermediate student were sent to rehabilitation centre for counseling and rehabilitation, Khammam district Superintendent of Police M M Bhagwat told PTI on Wednesday.
The human trafficking network was exposed when a victim girl recently lodged a complaint stating that one Dharavath Nagulu trapped her and forced her to indulge in prostitution at Khammam town, Vijayawada city and other places, Bhagwat said.
On the basis of the complaint police teams conducted raids at various places and arrested Nagulu, kingpin of the racket and six women who were involved in selling girls to brothel houses at Khammam, Kodada, Vijayawada and Mumbai, he said.
Nagulu reported to have confessed that he was involved in human trafficking for the last five years, the SP said. Three other accused in the racket are absconding and efforts are on to nab them, Bhagwat said.

Inter student among minors rescued

Date:25/12/2008



Police launch major drive against human trafficking
Police recommend immediate relief, compensation to the girls
Khammam accounts for a number of forced prostitution cases, says SP







Trainee sub-divisional police officer Janaki Sharmila listening to one of the rescued girls.





KHAMMAM: Three minor girls, including a junior college student, were freed from forced prostitution as part of a major operation launched in the district against human trafficking. The initiative spearheaded by Superintendent of Police Mahesh M. Bhagwat resulted in the arrest of some 11 persons accused in the prostitution racket.
One of the minor girls sold to a brothel in the red light area of Mumbai managed to escape and return to Khammam while two others were found to be pregnant. The police department has recommended an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 to each of the girls besides a compensation ranging up to Rs 1 lakh. They would be sent to the rehabilitation centre for counselling.
He said Daravath Nagulu, a resident of Balapet Tanda who had been in the flesh trade for over five years sold girls from the district in Mumbai. He enjoyed the support of affluent clientele in places such as Vijayawada and Kodad. Boda Ramesh, another person accused in the case, was also arrested along with nine others as part of the drive.
The Police department is working on information that similar gangs were operating in other parts of the district including Yellandu area trying to lure gullible women into flesh trade.
He said Khammam accounted for a substantial number of girls forced into prostitution. Out of 45 women set free by the State police from the red light area of Mumbai in 2007, some 15 women were from the district.
The SP said the breakthrough in the drive owed itself to the efforts of the Khammam sub divisional police officer, Rameshaiah, the trainee DSP, Janaki Sharmila and CI, Khammam rural, Syed Sarwar. The constables and head constable who took part in the operation would be suitably rewarded.

Police to play bigger role in AIDS awareness

Police to play bigger role in AIDS awareness
Staff Reporter
Audio CD of ‘kala jathas’ on the dreaded disease released

Mee Nestam to be launched in West Godavari district

KHAMMAM: Superintendent of Police Mahesh M. Bhagwat said here on Monday that the police would opt for playing a bigger role in raising the awareness levels in the general public on aids. Releasing an audio CD of the police ‘kala jatha’ teams on the dreaded disease at a programme organized a part of the World Ids Day, he said all the police stations in the district were instructed to organise awareness meetings on the occasion.
It is not end of the road for the positive people, he said adding that such people would be able to live a longer and happy life in a right environment. The spread of AIDS owed much to the sexual transmission. “ If you are loyal to your partner you are safe.” The police personnel, who are expected to be battle ready all the time with total physical fitness in the present circumstances, should not fall prey to the disease. The problem was felt more in cities like Mumbai where in a sizeable segment of people had been working away from their families. The sex workers in the red light areas were often forced reportedly for unprotected sex, but it would be fatal. He wanted the HIV tests conducted before marriage as they would help avoid a greater risk in life. But it should not be forced only upon women. It should be made mandatory even for men. Many advanced medicines were being made available in the market to enhance the life of the positive people. The HIV positive people should not try to conceal their problem. Their families should be kept informed. He said the youth, who could help create more awareness among the tribal communities by communicating in their own language, would be inducted in the ‘kala jathas’.
He announced a cash award of Rs 5,000 for the cultural teams which came out with the CD.

Bangalore: Sex change racket - Financer arrested

Bangalore: Sex change racket - Financer arrested
Bangalore November 10, 2008: Bangalore City police have today arrested a financier for his alleged involvement in a major sex change racket in the city.
The police, who had busted the racket yesterday with the arrest of two eunuchs for kidnapping a boy and coercing him into prostitution after his sex was changed, had succeeded in arresting kingpin Rajanna from the city and they were on the look out for a doctor, who operated the boy in Andhra Pradesh, the sources said.
They said the ninth standard student had been identified as Chandrashekhar of T Dasarhalli in the city. He was taken to Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh for the sex change in March, when his parents had filed a missing complaint with the police.The racket involves in kidnapping, castrating and eventually forcing them into begging and prostitution.
The boy revealed that he had gone to Kadapa and underwent a couple of surgeries and got his sex changed before being named as Shilpa. The only son of labour Venkatappa was then forced into the business of prostitution and begging. The money he collected from the day was given to Rajanna, who had financed his surgery in Kadapa. Rajanna had also made the arrangement of Rs 50,000 for the breast transplant in a city hospital.
The boy has been admitted to Victoira hospital for rejuvenating his genitals. The Chief Minister's office has come forward to bear the medical expenses for the operation, they added. According to a report, there were about 25,000 transgenders in the city

Transsexuals' arrest points at racket

Transsexuals' arrest points at racket
8 Nov 2008, 2353 hrs IST, TNN
Bangalore : With the arrest of two transsexuals, the police have stumbled upon a racket where boys are kidnapped and pushed into prostitution after a sex change operation. The arrested are Basavaraj alias Mangala and Baby alias Madhu. Police are on the lookout for five more persons, including a doctor from Andhra Pradesh who allegedly conducted the surgeries, and Rajanna, who finances such operations. DCP (north-east) Basavaraj Malagatthi said the racket has existed for a while and the police are verifying how many more children might have been kidnapped and pushed into sex work. Raj (name changed), a class IX student from Dasarahalli, was missing since March 23 and his father had lodged a complaint. The police found a sex worker named Shilpa, and on interrogation realized she was in fact the missing boy. During the investigation, police picked up Mangala and Baby, who had kidnapped Raj. He was allegedly drugged and taken to Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, where he was operated upon at Naganna Hospital and kept for a month. `Shilpa' was then brought to Bangalore and pushed into sex work by Rajanna, who runs a brothel. He is also said to have financed the operation and transportation. During the same period, Mangala got a breast transplantation at the hospital at a cost of Rs 60,000, police said. "This is the work of an organized racket. Besides Mangala and Baby, three other transsexuals -- Nandini, Sowmya and Apurva -- are involved. We are sure many other children have been kidnapped, and are trying to find out the details,'' Malgatthi said.

Nine girls en route to Indian brothels rescued

Nine girls en route to Indian brothels rescued
Anti girl trafficking volunteers rescued nine Nepalese girls last week from a frontier Indian town of Raxaul which is adjacent to Birgunj in Parsa district and handed them over to Maiti Nepal, reports said.
The girls, most of whom were minors, were rescued while being taken to Indian capital New Delhi by volunteers with the Cross-Border Anti-Trafficking Network, an NGO based in Raxaul, and then handed them over to the Birgunj branch of Maiti Nepal.
The report quoted Maiti Nepal Birgunj branch head Sangeeta Puri as saying that Phoolmaya Magar, 50, was taking the girls, who were from Mahottari and Sarlahi districts, to India to sell them into brothels where they would be forced to work as commercial sex workers.
Puri said that the girls have already been handed over to their parents. But it was not known through the report whether Magar was arrested.
Hundreds of Nepalese girls from the impoverished hilly districts of the country are trafficked to Indian metropolis mostly through Raxaul every year despite concerted efforts by Maiti Nepal and other anti-trafficking networks to put a lid on this appalling human tragedy.
After ending up in brothels in big Indian cities like New Delhi and Mumbai, the girls have to often go through intense suffering in the form of physical and mental tortures including depravation in uninhabitable places where they long to see the sun for years. It is estimated that more than 100,000 Nepalese girls and women currently work in brothels across India. nepalnews.com ag Nov 09 08

Cops rescue woman forced into prostitution
Thu, Nov 6 02:16
2Days after the Additional Commissioner of Police, Dr K Venkatesan, and the DB Marg police took an initiative to assist sex workers wishing to leave the profession, one Bengali woman being forced into prostitution was rescued and reunited with her husband by the officers of DB Marg police station on Tuesday.The victim (25) was being held against her will by Kumar Yadav (32) and Ashok Yadav (28) at the second floor of Krishna building in Grant road.The police raided the flat after being approached by the aunt of the victim's husband, and arrested the two men. The victim was found hiding under a bed, as she had been told by her captors that she would be arrested if caught.The accused are in police custody till Friday and have been charged with rape, illegal detention of a woman and also selling a woman for prostitution.
The woman was also allegedly beaten up by the duo, and had marks on her body. The victim was reunited with her husband who worked as a construction worker in the city and had been trying to locate her for the last two months. The victim had been brought to the city by a relative under the all too common ruse of procuring a job.Her relative sent her to two of his friends, who he claimed would hire her as a maid but they later sold her to the Yadavs. In the same flat, the police also found four more sex workers, who were sent to the Womens Remand Home in Chembur from where the police will help them get back to their home towns. The police are yet to arrest the victim's relative and the other two men as they are believed to be out of the city.
source :
http://in.news.yahoo.com/48/20081106/804/tnl-cops-rescue-woman-forced-into-prosti.html

Microsoft India announces two new grants to CAP Foundation

Microsoft India announces two new grants to CAP Foundation
Microsoft to fund Rs. 1.61 Crore for IT skills projects in Anti-trafficking and Overseas Workers training
Gurgaon, Haryana, IND, 2008-11-05 10:38:21 (IndiaPRwire.com)
Under the Unlimited Potential vision, Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited today announced an additional funding of Rs. 1.61 crore to CAP Foundation through its Community Technology Skills Program (CTSP) to promote IT access and training to communities vulnerable to unsafe migration and human trafficking. This announcement was made at a valedictory function for graduates of CAP Foundation training courses, attended by senior representatives from Microsoft, CAP Foundation and USAID/India. Addressing one of the root causes of unemployment in India, CAP Foundation provides employability skills training and economic empowerment to individuals and youth in at-risk communities.
Speaking at the event, Nancy Anderson, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation, USA said, “Access to information and communication technology holds tremendous potential to be the change agent for creating a more equitable order of economic opportunities and sustainable development. Every life that Project Jyoti - our Community Technology Skills Program in India - has helped transform through IT skills training is a testament to this. I am glad to deepen the engagement with our partner CAP Foundation for continuing to reach out to underserved individuals and changing lives”.
In his comments, Mr. George Deikun, Mission Director, USAID/India, said, “USAID is privileged to be a part of this very exciting initiative which links learning with livelihood. It is revolutionizing the way vulnerable youth, who have little prospect of employment, are mainstreamed into society”.
Expressing her views, Ms. Nalini Gangadharan, Chairperson, CAP Foundation, said, “Under the Microsoft and USAID-supported program, disadvantaged youth acquire basic IT skills, technical domain skills in fast expanding sectors, as well as life skills. It is a concrete step in positively changing the course of an individual’s life”.
Microsoft has so far partnered with 13 NGOs for on-the-ground CTSP program implementation in India, supported close to 900 Community Technology Learning Centres (CTLCs) across the country, and trained more than 120,000 people in approximately 20 states and Union Territories in IT skills based on the Unlimited Potential curriculum.
Under the grants announced by Microsoft, for phase II of an ongoing anti-human trafficking project, CAP Foundation will get Rs 1.18 crores in cash, software and curriculum across 30 training centres focusing on high migration and trafficking pockets in 15 states and union territories. A total of 44,800 at-risk youth from economically disadvantaged communities especially vulnerable to trafficking will receive IT and other skills training over three years. Most significantly, 80% of them are expected to be placed in jobs. This continues the momentum of phase I (2006-2008) of the project which was supported by USAID and QUEST Alliance for digitization of life skills content for improved delivery of the training.
A second project for IT skills training of Overseas Workers to assist their safe migration will get Rs 42.53 lakhs in cash, software and curriculum donations from Microsoft for 3 training centres in Hyderabad, Chennai and Ranchi. Around 6000 workers who have made the decision to migrate overseas for employment and are registered with Overseas Migration Corporations or similar agencies in India will receive pre-migration related employability skills training, certification and placement assistance. In addition to enabling professional advancement and safer, more informed migration, technology training will also help overseas workers transition more easily to life overseas and remain in closer contact with their families back home via use of ICT.
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About CAP Foundation (www.capfoundation.in)
The mission of CAP Foundation is to link learning and livelihood for youth at risk by providing a holistic education and livelihood promotion module which combines formal education with employability skill development training, life skills, job placement and career exploration opportunities, using experience to develop confident individuals capable of self directed growth.
About Microsoft India (www.microsoft.com/india)
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft Corporation India Private Ltd is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation USA. It has had a presence in India since 1990 and currently has offices in 16 cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, and Pune.
About USAID India (http://www.usaid.gov/in)
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is the principal U.S. agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance to countries around the world. Despite India’s booming economic growth, large segments of the youth population lack the education and skills necessary for success in the modern economy. To address this gap, USAID/India supports the Workforce Development Initiative (Ek Mouka or one opportunity) implemented by the CAP Foundation, which mobilizes poor and marginally educated youth and provides them with training in the skills demanded by industry
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Congratulations to Aasara project partner ' CAP foundation'