In an attempt to crackdown a human trafficking and illegal gambling racket, Rajasthan Crime Branch officials in Jaipur district of India’s western Rajasthan state, arrested 83 people including a cop and a professor involved in the rumpus.
The raids were conducted at a farm house in Jaisinghpura Khor, a popular locality situated in the middle of Jaipur city, where an inter-state group had been involved in human trafficking and subjected women to prostitution, casino gambling, and liquor consumption.
“Nearly 83 people have been arrested. All of them are from outside Rajasthan. The organisers had kept ₹ two lakh per person as entry fees for the event. Prostitution and other activities were being carried out at the farm house. Organizers have been booked for human trafficking. They had been carrying out these kinds of activities in various parts of the country,” Ajay Pal Lamba, Additional Commissioner of Police said.
Among those arrested for organising such events were Naresh Malohtra, his son Manvesh, and Manish Sharma.
Police also seized five casino machines, 14 luxury vehicles, and more than ₹ 23 lakh during the searches.
In a similar incident that happened earlier in July, the Government Railway Police (GRP-Prayagraj) had arrested four persons on the charges of kidnapping, trafficking of children and violating the Juvenile Justice Act. The four accused have been identified as Abdul Rab of Sitapur, Mohd Wasil of Sahara (Bihar), Sanaullah of Katihar (Bihar) and Babloo Soren of Alipurdwar (West Bengal) according to a report issued by the police officials.
In the year 2019, the government reported nearly 2,088 trafficking cases under the IP Code in comparison to 1,830 trafficking cases in 2018. Approximately 2,854 trafficking cases were reported in the year 2017.
In a recent statement released by a Social Impact organisation, Sanjog India, working with human trafficking survivors based in West Bengal cited that the Union Ministry of Home Affairs did not see a single conviction in such cases in 2020 across seven states namely— Assam, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Goa, Maharashtra, Odisha and Punjab.
Meanwhile, a researcher and human rights activist at Sanjog India, Pompi Banerjee said, “In most of the registered cases (on such crimes), the accused are mainly brothel owners, and the cases are registered after a rescue. Even then the chances of them getting convicted is slim due to the lack of circumstantial evidence.”
Another member of the same organisation, Kaushik Gupta, heading a team of lawyers from West Bengal and Maharashtra, at the anti-trafficking collective, ‘Tafteesh’ had stated in the report saying, “An organised crime is required to be fought in an organised manner. There should be better cooperation between the anti-human trafficking units (AHTU) personnel from different states. This can lead to more convictions.”
As per the government data, the conviction rate in Human trafficking cases has been falling over the past few years.
In 2018, the NIA agreed to take up human trafficking case involving two or more states, but it is still in the early stages.
