20 minors rescued in India child-trafficking bust

A massive police crackdown on organized child trafficking has led to the arrest of 10 child traffickers and the rescue of 20 minors in India.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The raids were conducted jointly by police teams from the Indian states of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand in Delhi. They had a list of 33 children that had been kidnapped from Chhattisgarh and taken to Delhi under the pretext that they would be given jobs.

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"We raided three placement agencies in west Delhi's Moti Nagar and Shakurpur areas," said "Mallika Bannerjee, an inspector with the Chhattisgarh police.

"A notorious trafficker, who is believed to have been involved in over a dozen cases, has been arrested. She has given us details of several children who are working here as domestic helps."

Bannerjee revealed that many of the children that were rescued were cruelly beaten and forced to live in cramped single rooms. They managed to rescue 16 minors.

"From a placement agency in Shakurpur, we have rescued six girls aged 12-13 years. Initially, we had information about four minors only, but our investigations later revealed that there were more children. We believe that agents bring these children to Delhi and sell them," she continued.

A similar operation was conducted by the anti-trafficking unit of Jharkhand, and police managed to rescue four minors-three of whom were girls.

"We have rescued a girl from Vikapsuri and two others from Noida. Another boy has been rescued from Shakurpur," said the unit's head officer, Aradhana Singh.

These operations, conducted around west Delhi, have had little help from local state police.

"After the arrest of well-known trafficker, Panna Lal Mahto, it was clear that several illegal placement agencies were operating from Shakurpur in west Delhi," said the president of the Indian-based human rights group Shakti Vahini NGO, Ravikant.

"Despite that, the local police have not taken any action. When police from other states conduct raids, they get very little cooperation from west Delhi police. The matter should be brought to the notice of the crime branch and Union home ministry."

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