SHILLONG, March 31: Nineteen cases of human trafficking were registered in Meghalaya in the past six years, Director General of Police (DGP), LR Bishnoi said on Friday.
He said there was successful conviction in four of the 19 cases. He was speaking at the inaugural function of day-long state-level conference on anti-human trafficking held at the State Convention Centre here on Friday.
Stating that it is challenging to investigate cases of human trafficking, Bishnoi said there are various factors relating to human trafficking which are required to be proved in a court to get conviction.
He said the investigating officer and the supervisory officers are required to make a lot of efforts to prove any part or component in such cases.
He said the likely reasons behind human trafficking are poverty, lack of job opportunities, backwardness and lack of development of the area.
He said social factors too contribute to human trafficking.
“The most prevalent social sector is broken families or single motherhood. The rate of it in Meghalaya is high compared to other states. It is because of these factors that our young boys and girls are vulnerable to trafficking,” the DGP said.
He said there could be political factors but they are not equally present everywhere.
Meanwhile, he said there are no specific homes for adult victims in India. It is easy to rehabilitate child victims as there are observational homes and special homes built under the Juvenile Justice Act, he said.
“It is challenging when adult victims are rescued as there is no parental or family support. But rehabilitation is a real problem, for there is no adequate infrastructure,” Bishnoi said, stressing that the people in the state should be fully aware of the dynamics of trafficking.
Iamonlang Syiem, who is the chairperson of Meghalaya State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said accurate and authentic data is critical to coordinate efforts for zeroing in on any suspicious areas.
She said there is always a mismatch in the data provided by the police and the different government agencies. She said it will be difficult to formulate strategies if there are no solid data that will help guide how to deal with the issue.
The conference was organised to sensitise the officers of various government departments, including police, labour, social justice, women and child development, on the latest laws, rules, and modus operandi which the traffickers use to lure victims.
The conference also deliberated on how the law-enforcement agencies and other stakeholders could play an effective role in issues relating to trafficking on a daily basis. Meghalaya State Judicial Academy director, KML Nongbri also spoke on the occasion.
