Homecoming for trafficked minors on New Year’s Day

Amitava Banerjee, THT, Darjeeling,1 January 2014: Both Asha and Prerana (names changed) are eagerly waiting for New Year’s Day. On January 1 they will be reunited with their families, leaving behind the days of horror and trauma. Both the girls, aged 13, had been trafficked from the Darjeeling Hills and rescued from Anni in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh.

The two girls had been duped by Masum Thakur alias Maheshwar Singh with promises of lucrative jobs, chance to visit new places and a bright future.

On October 22, the two minors left their homes accompanied by Singh. After having spent a night in a hotel near the New Jalpaiguri (NJP) railway station, they boarded a train for Delhi on October 23. With a missing complaint being lodged on October 23 by the parents of the victims, the Bal Suraksha Abhiyan Trust (BSAT- an NGO) and the police swung into action and set about locating the minors.

The police had some information about Singh from their sources. While probing the case, the sleuths chanced upon a scanned copy of Singh’s Adhar Card from the Hotel in New Jalpaiguri. “We immediately contacted the Himachal Pradesh Police and Childline (an NGO working in this sector),” Tej Kumar Thapa, child release officer of the BSAT.

Himachal Police started tracing Singh’s mobile calls and located him in Chandigarh. However, he soon stopped calling from the number. A major breakthrough came in the form of an unknown caller on December 19.

The caller rang up the parents of the minors and gave certain information on them. The call was traced to Dharampur in the Solan district.

The Himachal police followed up with raids shortly after and found that Singh had escaped and was in Anni in the Kullu district. He was arrested from Anni on December 20 and the two girls rescued.

A police team accompanied by BSAT members departed for Anni and brought the minors back to the Darjeeling Hills. Singh has been booked under Sections 363 (kidnapping) and 366 ( abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage.)

“The minors have since been in the custody of the NGO. Now, with all required formalities, including producing them before the Child Welfare Committee, complete, the two will be sent back to their families,” Thapa said.