Haryana Police to launch campaign against human trafficking in April

PNS/

Haryana Police will launch a month-long campaign against human trafficking across the state in April.

Announcing this, the state Director General of Police (DGP) PK Agrawal on Thursday said that human trafficking is a heinous crime that affects thousands of people every year in the country; and the State has unearthed several cases of human trafficking in recent years with the Police committed to put an end to this menace.

“Through this, awareness about the issue of human trafficking will be raised and people will be encouraged to report any suspicious activity related to human trafficking,” the DGP added.

The state police chief said that the campaign, which will run from April 1 to 30, 2023, will involve various activities such as seminars, workshops, street plays, and awareness drives. Haryana Police will also work closely with NGOs and other stakeholders to conduct rescue operations and provide rehabilitation to the victims of human trafficking.

Speaking about the campaign, DGP further said: “The month-long campaign against human trafficking is a part of our ongoing efforts to combat this crime. We are determined to create a safer environment for our citizens and to ensure that perpetrators of this crime are brought to justice.”

The official spokesperson said that the Haryana Police has urged citizens to report any suspicious activity related to human trafficking to the police immediately at 112, its emergency helpline number. The police has assured that the identity of the informer will be kept confidential.

In its communique to field units, SPs and DCPs have been asked to organize the campaign. CPs and IG/ADG Range will weekly review the progress. Performance of field units will be reviewed at the end of the month on the number of missing children and adults traced and beggars and labourers rescued.

Towards this end, police will revisit untraced missing person cases and send police teams to shelters and children homes in adjoining states to see whether any of them are residing there. While missing children cases are registered under section 363-366 IPC, those of missing adults are registered under 346 IPC.

In 2022, Haryana police traced 3379 female and 6340 male missing adults. During the year, it also recovered missing 1144 boy children and 1426 girl children. During the year, it rescued 41 bonded labourers too.

During the same period, 22 Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTU) of the State Crime Branch traced missing 316 male adults and 373 females. It also traced missing 313 boy children and 227 girl children during the year. It rescued 639 male and 294 female beggars and 1300 male and 52 female bonded labours in 2022.

As per a Supreme Court order, a case of missing person is transferred to state crime branch for further investigation if it remains unsolved in the district for over four months. Through the campaign, Haryana police in association with the women and child welfare department, other state police and NGOs aim to bring smiles back to the family by reuniting their loved ones with them, the spokesperson added.