Trafficking racket busted in Bihar, 45 minors rescued

Patna/Sasaram, Mar 10 (PTI) Altogether 45 children, including 42 girls, have been rescued in an anti-trafficking operation carried out recently by the Bihar Police, a senior official said on Monday.

Raids were conducted at several places in Rohtas district last week as part of ‘Operation Natraj’, Superintendent of Police Roshan Kumar said.

“An NGO… had provided a tip-off to Additional Director General of Police (CID), Anil Kumar Jain, about minors, mostly from outside the state, being hired by a number of so-called orchestra parties, which perform at weddings and other public functions,” he said.

“It was stated that these children were made to live in appalling conditions and forced to wear revealing clothes and gyrate to the tunes of lewd songs. The tip-off was shared with us by the ADG and we launched the operation,” the SP said.

He said the operation that began in the early hours of Thursday, “continued for six hours, with personnel from several police stations travelling by 19 vehicles. Three minor boys were also rescued. Five persons were arrested for involvement in the racket”.

“It appears the girls were lured with the promise of jobs and marriage. The boys were promised financial security. All the rescued children are from extremely poor backgrounds,” the officer said.

He added that the accused have been sent to jail, while steps were being taken for the rehabilitation of the rescued children.

Meanwhile, Manish Sharma, senior director of the NGO – Association for Voluntary Action (AVA) – said in a statement: “Earlier, girls used to be mostly trafficked from West Bengal, but now Chhattisgarh has become a new hotspot for such networks. Influential people may be behind the inter-state trafficking rings. Thorough investigation is needed to dismantle these”.