Mizoram not free from human trafficking

Aizawl, Dec 13 (UNI) Mizoram police today revealed that several cases of human trafficking have been found in the state.

According to police records, 13 cases under the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act have been registered during 1995 till date of which 11 were chargsheeted and one convicted.

Seven of the victims, were above 18 years of age, three belonged to 14-18 age group and the rest two were below 14 years of age.

''The actual number of cases could be much higher since it is certain that many cases went unrecorded,'' officials of the Community Health Action Network (Chan) and Centre for Peace and Development(CPD) who jointly observed the Global Anti-Trafficking Day in Aizawl today.

On this occasion, the two NGOs made a joint appeal to the public which emphasised on the need to be aware and take preventive measures against human trafficking.

''Backward states and countries are vulnerable to human trafficking. Most of the victims have been lured out with a promise of handsome jobs. Keeping this in mind, we should be on guard against human traffickers,'' the officials said.

It is estimated that India has two to three million human trafficking victims, with about 11,000 victims from Nepal and 300,000 from Bangladesh annually.

UNI SNR JYN LS ND1316