Gkp emerging as a child trafficking hub: Report
GORAKHPUR: Flanked by Nepal and Bihar, Gorakhpur is fast emerging as the biggest child trafficking hub as per a research conducted by an NGO Safe Society.
In the last three years, the NGO claims to have found 500 children who had been sucked into the child trafficking vortex. The NGO works to rehabilitate and reunite runway kids who take shelter at Gorakhpur railway station and surrounding areas.
Of the 500 kids, around 100 were being trafficked for various reasons like organ trade, bondage labour etc through Gorakhpur to various destinations across the country and even Nepal.
With 51% of child trafficking cases, West Champaran (Bihar) topped the list of trafficked cases, which was followed by Kushinagar (UP) accounting for highest number of trafficked cases at 12% in UP . Gorakhpur witnessed 6% of total cases and other neighbouring states like Jharkhand, Punjab and Assam witnessed total 8% of trafficking cases.
“In the last three years we have handed over 500 children including those freed from the clutches of traffickers to anti human trafficking unit (AHTU) and other agencies,” said Vishwa Vaibhav, director Safe Society while interacting with media in Gorakhpur on Saturday.
Further, the research report findings between April and September 2017 revealed improper parenting (134 cases) was a major cause behind children running away from homes and taking shelter at railway platforms. This was followed by 100 cases of trafficking, 57 cases of lost children, 34 cases of eloped kids, 39 cases of lone journey, 52 for seeking work and 28 for other reasons. In some cases parents had allowed agents or carriers to take children away in lieu of money. As per reports, lack of ‘education with fun’ and misbehaviour by teachers at schools and madarsas was another shocking reason why children ran away from home.
In case of girls who had eloped, most were trapped by touts who were planning to sell them at brothels.The NG O says that lack in coordination between child protection agencies was the main reason behind unchecked trafficking cases. In addition, against the rules laid down by government, no village level child protection committees had been set up, the NGO report adds.
Meanwhile, inspector GRP Rana Rajesh Singh said, “The runaway children coming to platform are reunited with families after counselling. AHTU is also working separately to check trafficking. In most cases, runaway children were not happy with their families.”
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In the last three years we have handed over 500 children including those freed from the clutches of traffickers to antihuman trafficking unit VISHWA VAIBHAV, director Safe Society