This is the story of many girls and their families not only in Delhi but in many states across the country. He is missing, his files are lying in police stations, he is a missing case figure. The country’s statistics (2019-21) say that 13.13 lakh girls and women have gone missing in three years, that is, 1199 every day. The three-year figure in Delhi is more than 84,000, which means on an average 76 girls and women go missing in a day. The strings of missing girls and women from all over the country are also connected to Delhi. Girls are smuggled from all the states to the capital, Delhi is becoming a hub of trafficking.
Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says that there has been a 21.7% increase in trafficking cases across the country in a year. Smuggling cases in Delhi have increased by 73.5% in a year. Three years statistics say that there have been 238 case reports of human trafficking in Delhi. Organizations working against trafficking say that after Covid, the cases of trafficking have increased in Delhi, especially the cases of trafficking of girls aged 12 to 18 have seen a 60 to 70% increase. Experts say that there is no strong anti-trafficking law in the country, especially there is no law to regulate placement agencies, the biggest sources of trafficking.
‘No coordination among states to trace missing cases’
Delhi Women’s Commission chief Swati Maliwal says, Delhi is the hub of trafficking. A major reason for missing cases is trafficking, be it sex trafficking or bonded labour. Girls are being sold for prostitution not only in other states but also abroad. The police work tirelessly in tracing the missing case, whereas if the investigation is started as soon as the complaint is received, many girls can be saved. In the case of women, the police do not even register an FIR for several days, assuming that they must have gone on their own. Second, there is no coordination between the police of all the states. If a girl is found in another state, there is no strong system to connect her with her family. There is a need to strengthen the coordination between the states and this lost-found system. It is surprising that 13 lakh women and girls of the country are missing, apart from domestic work, prostitution, medical organ crime can also be behind this, investigation is necessary by forming SIT immediately.
Placement agencies are a major source of trafficking
Most of the victims of human trafficking in Delhi are girls in the age group of 12 to 22. Rakesh Sengar, executive director of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, says, placement agencies are a big hub of trafficking. Most of these are illegal. There is no strong law to prevent trafficking and there is no rule law for regulation of placement agency. In 2011, in a case of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, the Delhi High Court had asked for a law to regulate placement agencies in Delhi, on which the LG issued an order, but till now it is lying in a draft form. We are still demanding that the Anti-Trafficking Bill be passed in the Parliament. Virender Kumar, director of Mission Mukti Foundation, says, many placement agencies have kept fake licenses by scanning the same license in Delhi, they change the age in the Aadhaar card of girls. The government does not have control over these agencies.
missing more than once
Roop Sudesh, a member of the Child Welfare Committee in Delhi, says that most of the missing children cases are girls younger than 12 to 18 years, who are disappeared for everything from domestic help to prostitution. In the missing cases of Delhi, we have seen many such cases, in which due to the delay in tracing by the police, the girls became pregnant or gave birth to children or got trapped in prostitution, then due to the fear of the family and the society, they adopt the same life. In many cases, the girls were rescued and brought home, but after a few months or years, they disappear again. The mobile number, Aadhaar card, even the name of the minor girl is changed. Lack of education and a big reason behind this is the environment of the house. He says, we have fewer cases of trafficking than Delhi, more than other states. Fewer cases of smuggling from Delhi are also due to the monitoring of GRP, RPF in railway station, bus station. For example, last week itself, a 10-year-old girl was abducted by two men from Faridabad, made her unconscious. But due to the promptness of the police at Delhi’s railway station, both of them could not take him further.
