Police foils child trafficking bid, rescue 10 children

Imphal, March 24 2010: Amidst hue and cry of different sections of the society to check child traffick in Manipur, 10 children (seven boys and three girls), who were being taken to Chennai, were rescued by police today at about 12.30 pm.

The 10 children, all below 18 years, were rescued by Sekmai police at its check post on the Imphal-Dimapur section of the NH-39 during their routine frisking and checking of the inter-state passenger buses leaving Imphal.

The children were found in an inter-state bus.

They were being taken to Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Police detained them for verification on suspicion as no guide accompanied them.

Police said that the bus they were travelling in was allowed to proceed to its destination after detaining the children, all from Churachandpur.

They were coming from Churachandpur this morning in the same inter-state bus.

They all hail from Churachandpur district, police said.

Police latter handed over the children to the officials of the state social welfare department and Child Line.

The children are from Churachandpur, said director of social welfare department, G Seityabati adding that they were being trafficked to Chennai, Tamil Nadu where many children were recently rescued from unregistered homes.

The rescued children will be handed over to their respective parents and guardians after summoning them and make them aware of the problems to be faced by the children later at the place where they are to be lodged.

The attempt to traffic the children from the state amidst hue and cry of the NGOs working for the welfare of the children and their rights and sections of the societies to combat child traffic with a comprehensive policy of the government.

As many as 74 children of Manipur had been rescued during the month of February last from different homes.

As revealed by the victim children, they were ill-treated and forced labour while staying their instead of giving education as promised by the people who carry them there.

Concerned over the high rate of trafficking of children from Manipur being frequently exposed in the around two years, government has working on proposals for constitution of an Anti-Human Trafficking Cell in Manipur.

The committee or cell will comprise related departments such as education, labour, rural development, etc., seeing that somehow or the other all these subject areas are crucial factors and there is a need for co-ordination between all these departments to check trafficking.

Impulse NGO Network, a Shillong base body, nodal agency fighting against the problem of human trafficking in the North East while stressing the need for cooperation and support between the Government and the NGOs working in the field of child welfare has on Tuesday proposed for setting up a joint committee of the Government officials and the NGOs to stop child trafficking in Manipur.

A team of the body currently camping in Imphal to assess cases of child trafficking in Manipur demanded the setting up of joint committee considering difficulties for the state and district partners of child line in addressing all such cases of child trafficking.