TIGblogs - Mahesh 's TIGBlog http://mmbips.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us CBI: Tirupati, Shirdi in Nexus Too http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/674877 Human traffickinjg - Tirupati, Shirdi in Nexus Too
By: Anshuman G Dutta
Date: 2009-05-21
They are traditional soul-cleansing destinations. But pilgrim towns Benaras, Tirupati and Shirdi have instead become hubs of global human traffickingNineteen-year-old Seema (name changed to protect her identity) had come to Benaras on a pilgrimage. It was the city's religious importance that had persuaded her parents in Nepal to allow their young daughter to travel to a foreign country.
Sin City: Pilgrims at one of the ghats of BenarasBut instead of angels, Seema met the demons here. She was held captive, gang-raped and then pushed into the flesh trade.Fortunately, Seema was rescued by an NGO and a group of students from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) who have decided to cleanse the holy city's unholy underbelly.Non-government orgnisations working in Benaras say 500 to 700 girls are brought to the city from Nepal and Bangladesh to be pushed into the flesh trade every year. Later, these girls are taken to Mumbai, Delhi and other metropolitan cities. That's not all. Between 20,000 and 40,000 people are brought here to work as bonded labourers while about 1,000 children are turned into beggars every year.But Benaras is not the only Indian town of religious importance that has become a ripe picking ground for human traffickers. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has revealed cities like Benaras, Tirupati and Shirdi attract human traffickers who find easy targets from among the large number of people who visit these places.
Hotbed Benaras "Seema was only 17 when she was brought to Benaras. She fought her captors and resisted even in the face of near-starvation and physical torture. But her will snapped after she was gang-raped by the members of a human trafficking racket," said Dr Lenin Suryavanshi, director, People's Vigilance Commission on Human Resource, one of the most prominent NGOs working in Benaras.According to Suryavanshi, the Benaras-based gangs "cater" to clients in all the big cities of the country. Children and girls are also brought to Benaras from Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Orissa.
"While most of them are forced into prostitution and begging, many are made to work as bonded labourers as well. Many of them work in the bricks kilns around Benaras," said Suryavanshi.The CBI and NGOs also informed that the racket is thriving between Benaras and Mughalsarai. "There is no denying that human trafficking is rampant in these parts but no own knows how deep-rooted it is. Regular raids are being carried out but the police hardly get any proof as the gangs keep moving along with the kids and girls," said a senior police official from Benaras, wishing anonymity.CBI has an eye on Tirupati and ShirdiThe CBI, in a recently conducted seminar on human trafficking, revealed that religious towns like Benaras are happy hunting grounds for international gangs as well.
"India is being used as source, transit point and destination by global human traffickers," said CBI director Ashwani Kumar at the seminar, organised in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC).A senior CBI official was more specific. "Benaras and Tirupati are two of the most active destinations for both inter-country and intra-country human trafficking. All kind of human trafficking networks child labour, flesh trade and begging rackets are being operated from these cities," said the officer."There is a complete list of religious places from where begging and prostitution gangs are operating. Shirdi is one such town in western India where gangs force children and women into begging," he added.Another senior CBI official said that the investigating body is actively monitoring these religious places to take stock of the situation."So far no one knows the exact strength of the trafficking rackets being operated from these cities. It's being run in connivance with international gangs," he said, wishing not to be named.Unholy factsNGOs working in Benaras say 500 to 700 girls are brought to the city from Nepal and Bangladesh for prostitution every year. Between 20,000 and 40,000 people are brought here to work as bonded labourers, while about 1,000 kids are turned into beggars.
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]]> Thu, 21 May 2009 10:05:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/674877 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Eunuch convicted for raping minor http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/668903 Eunuch convicted for raping minor
15 May 2009, 1650 hrs IST, PTI
MUMBAI: The sessions court on Friday sentenced a eunuch to ten years rigorous imprisonment on charges of raping a minor girl and immoral trafficking. Additional sessions judge P V Ganediwala convicted the eunuch Rekha Lamb (42), who has been diagnosed with AIDS, on charges of rape and under various sections of the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act. Another accused, Sarfaraj Siddiqui (23), who had paid Rekha to sleep with a minor girl, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment by the court. On February 16, 2007 the Trombay police had raided Rekha's residence in suburban Chembur and had found Siddiqui and a minor girl in the front room in a compromising position and Rekha in the kitchen with another minor girl. According to the statement of one of the girls, she used to do household chores at Rekha's house since last year when one day Rekha raped her. Since last three to four months, Rekha has been getting customers to her house for sexual favours with the two girls, the prosecution has said. Public prosecutor Usha Kiran Makasare examined nine witnesses in the case including the two girls and Rekha's neighbour who had informed the police about the racket.

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]]> Fri, 15 May 2009 08:05:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/668903 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Trafficking of Indian ladies to Middle East http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/656461
Date:30/06/2008
Andhra Pradesh -
Kadapa Three held on charge of human trafficking
Special Correspondent
KADAPA: Rayachoti police arrested Pasupuleti Veera Nagaiah, Jeelani and Mahaboob Basha and remanded them on charges of resorting to human trafficking, Kadapa Superintendent of Police Mahesh M. Bhagwat said on Sunday. The police are making efforts to apprehend Nazeer, who was allegedly involved in trafficking of women to Kuwait in the past.
A 40-year-old woman victim (whose name the police withheld) of Gorlamudivedu village in Rayachoty had approached Pasupuleti Veera Nagaiah collected Rs. 40,000 from her promising to send her to Kuwait as a maid servant. He sent her to Kuwait through an unauthorised agent Jeelani of Rayachoty and his brother Mahaboob Basha, the SP told a press conference. In Kuwait, Nazeer, another brother of Jeelani, sold the victim to a brothel house, where she was confined for 10 days along with some other women, he stated. The victim managed to escape through a bathroom window of the brothel house and approached the police station and were jailed as they did not possess relevant documents, he said. Complaint lodged
The victim and another woman of Rayachoti and three women of West Godavari contacted the Indian Embassy and they were sent back to India, Mr. Bhagwat stated. The victim lodged a complaint and on its basis, Rayachoti Urban police registered a case under section 420 IPC, section 24 (1) AP Immigration Act, sections 3, 4 and 5 of Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act against Jeelani, Pasupuleti Veera Nagaiah, Mahaboob Basha of Rayachoty and Nazeer, resident of Kuwait, the SP said.
He appealed to people not to approach unauthorised agents. People aspiring to go abroad should obtain insurance from Pravasa Bharathi Bima Yojana. They could contact the Indian Embassy in Kuwait if they encountered problems

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]]> Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:04:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/656461 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Prostitution of boys at India's pilgrim sites called rampant http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/611203 Prostitution of boys at India's pilgrim sites called rampant
By DPAMar 10, 2009, 10:16 GMT
New Delhi - Sexual exploitation of boys in three of India's major pilgrimage centres is pervasive and on the rise, a study released Tuesday said.
The study focused on male children in prostitution at Hindu temple sites of Puri in eastern Orissa state and Tirupati and Guruvayoor in southern Andhra Pradesh and Kerala states.
It was conducted by Ecpat, an international network that aims to stop sexual exploitation of children, and Indian non-governmental organization Equations.
The study found that in these centres, development of tourism had led to sexual exploitation of children, in the form of child abuse, child trafficking, child prostitution, child sex tourism and child pornography.
'There is a dearth of information on male child sexual exploitation and prostitution due to the assumption that most sexual exploiters are men and therefore their victims are women or girls. However, this is not true,' said S Vidya, a coordinator with the Equations.
'The double standards that society has about homosexuality and the fact that it is criminalized in India only makes the problem less visible.'
In Tirupati, which receives mostly Indians, a survey of boys aged between 6 and 18 years revealed that sexual abuse of boys is rampant due to demand from domestic tourists. Pressure on boys to earn a living for the family was cited as a reason why they were forced into prostitution.
'Family members saw less risk when male children are involved in selling sex as compared to girls, as the social stigma is less and the fear of pregnancy does not exist,' the report said.
In Puri, boys interviewed reported that both domestic and foreign tourists were involved in the sexual exploitation.
'A number of massage parlours and health clubs have mushroomed in Puri that primarily cater to foreign and domestic tourists, where prostitution takes place involving both adults and children,' the study said.
In Guruvayoor, child sexual abuse was less visible but discussions with locals revealed that several boys were involved in prostitution, selling sex to domestic tourists and locals.
The groups urged the Indian government to set up agencies to safeguard children and tighten laws to stop child sex tourism, including severe punishment for convicted offenders

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]]> Tue, 10 Mar 2009 07:03:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/611203 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Trafficking: Lens on women's role http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/609295
Trafficking: Lens on women's role
8 Mar 2009, 0505 hrs IST,
Ratnottama Sengupta, TNN
KOLKATA: In Bappaditya Bandopadhyay's Kaal, a male actor inducts four helpless young females into the flesh trade. In Hollywood films Human Trafficking and Trade, again, it's men Russians, Mexicans, Poles, Czechs, Filipinos who steal, trick, lure, lock up, brutalize, and repeatedly sell women mothers, daughters, sisters, even wives.

Typically, organized crime is a male activity, right? Not really, says United Nation's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, released to mark International Women's Day. Men make up over 90% of the prison populations of most countries. They are perpetrators of the most violent crimes, terror acts, drug-related horrors. Surprisingly, data from 46 countries suggest for the first time that women play key roles in human trafficking, a trade where two-thirds of the victims are women, and about 13% are girls. Estimates suggest that close to 8 million women and children are trafficked around the world, and two-thirds of these are in the sex trade.

The term sex worker' hides the fact that few choose it as a career option where legislations regarding minimum standards of wages don't apply.

A woman's price varies with age, and there are no retirement benefits. Instead, they face brutalities, forced penetration, repeated abortion, insomnia, even AIDS. The worst part is that the victims' are apprehended as criminals, while the traffickers and buyers of sex get away scot-free. Sexual exploitation is by far the most common form 79% of trafficking, the third most lucrative after trade in arms and drugs. It's the most visible in city centres and along highways, be it in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangkok, Berlin, London or New York.

But by no means is it the only form of forced labour. We know of slumdogs forced to beg on Indian streets, or of bonded labour. How many know about those used in warfare, or for organ removal? "We are unable to segment today's slave market'," says Antonio Maria Costa, ED, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Break-ups say little about demand and supply, or about relative prices of children used for begging or for rag-tag armies of killers. What pushes illegal immigrants into American sweatshops?

"It is unclear whether the enterprises' are driven by compulsions in source countries or demands in destinations," says Costa. However, the report as much as the films in the festival, that was hosted by Apne Aap, American Center and ICCR, reveals that in source countries, locals win the trust and acquire victims, then control them by threatening retaliation against kids and aged parents. In high-income destinations, though, the offenders are more likely to be foreigners.

"Diaspora population from source regions is often the conduit for moving victims," Costa said. Care for some more revelations? Many African countries have no law against trafficking, or criminalize only child trafficking. In India, while sex with a minor is punished as rape, women victims are penalized for soliciting'. Not all high-income countries have comprehensive legislation, either. So, "the fight against the lucrative exploitation of fellow humans essentially remains an individual national initiative," said Costa.

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]]> Sun, 08 Mar 2009 07:03:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/609295 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Giving a purpose to life http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/590735

Giving a purpose to life
D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao

Sharmila goes all out to help young girls caught in the pincer grip of prostitution rings



Proud moment: Probationary sub-divisional police officer G. Janaki Sharmila receiving cash award from Superintendent of Police Mahesh M Bhagwat.

KHAMMAM: Chasing leads on flesh trade gangs, she entered places where even her male peers would hesitate to venture into. Putting herself often at risk by confronting people of all sorts, she proved that she was made out to shoulder special tasks and not the mundane stuff.
G. Janaki Sharmila, a probationary sub divisional police officer has been in the thick of action grabbing attention of the media and the public during her brief stint of six months in the district. Her main target
Ms. Sharmila has gone all out helping young girls caught in the pincer grip of prostitution rings that enjoyed the patronage of powerful clientele. Brothels luring poor girls into prostitution were her targets and she is thankful to her bosses for tasking her with the drive against human trafficking.
An Intermediate student forced into prostitution by a notorious gang along with a girl of the same age group was rescued by the police team led by Ms. Sharmila on December 24 last. The two girls were considered for special assistance by the administration, thus enabling them to lead a normal life.
Another gang in the flesh trade trapped a teenaged girl from a village in the district cashing in on her urge to make it big in life. The girl was in for a rude shock to know that she was pregnant. Khammam accounts for a good number of cases of forced prostitution and gullible women are being lured into the racket.
There is some let-up now, thanks to the crackdown, which is mainly because of this gutsy woman in uniform.
Quick and to the point in conversation, she says she joined the police service with a purpose by topping the Group 1 examination.
She gave up a job with a handsome package of Rs. 12 lakh in the HRD wing of a software company because of her “urge to reach out the helpless.” She lost her one-year-old child Snigdha in a road accident at Nagarjunagar in 2004.
This turned out to be her moment of transformation.

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]]> Thu, 12 Feb 2009 06:02:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/590735 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Delhi High Court orders probe into child trafficking http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/575141 Delhi High Court orders probe into child trafficking
New Delhi, Jan 22 (ANI): Concerned over the increasing number of child trafficking cases, the Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered senior police officials to investigate the case and present the results by Friday.
A division bench of Chief Justice AP Shah and Justice Sanjeev Khanna said, "This is a very serious matter and needs to be investigated by a senior level officer of the Delhi police".
The court heard Public Interest Litigation filed by the NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan blamed the placement agencies for the illegal trafficking of girls and advised compulsory registration of all such agencies.
Senior lawyers H S Phoolka and Kavita Tiwari, advocating for the NGO, told the bench that the girls were forced into prostitution and the boys into illegal activities.
Bachpan Bachao Andolan, in early January, claimed of rescuing thirty-five girls and four boys from various placement agencies in the capital.
Though child trafficking is growing rapidly in India, there is no reliable data available on the issue in India.
According to figures provided by the National Crime Records Bureau, in 2004, as many as 2,265 cases of kidnapping and abduction of children qualified as forms of trafficking and were reported to the police.
Of these, 1,593 cases were of kidnapping for marriage, 414 were for illicit sex, 92 for unlawful activity, 101 for prostitution and the rest for various other things like slavery, beggary and even selling body parts.
Most of these children (72 per cent) were between sixteen and eighteen years of age. Twenty-five per cent were children aged eleven to fifteen years.
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are the states from where the maximum numbers of children are trafficked to other states.
Intra state/inter district trafficking is high in the states of Rajasthan, Assam, Meghalaya, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra while States like Delhi and Goa are ‘receiver’ states.
Trafficking of children from the North-Eastern states of India and the bordering countries in the north-east is a serious issue but has so far not drawn public attention.
Children are trafficked for several reasons including sexual exploitation; adoption; entertainment and sports (for example, acrobatics in circus, dance troupes, beer bars; as camel jockeys); marriage; labour; begging, organ trade (though only anecdotal evidence of this is available); drug peddling and smuggling. (ANI)

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]]> Fri, 23 Jan 2009 07:01:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/575141 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Video on recue of teenaged girls http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/567199 http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=OL8hTxIMfnA

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]]> Sun, 11 Jan 2009 07:01:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/567199 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Human trafficking- One more girl rescued by Khammam Police http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/563379
Date:04/01/2009
Andhra Pradesh - Khammam One more girl rescued
Staff Reporter
KHAMMAM: A police party led by the probationary DSP, G. Janaki Sharmila on Saturday freed a girl from forced prostitution by arresting three persons, including a woman and her son, on the charge of running a brothel and indulging in trafficking.
Disclosing this at a press conference, Khammam DSP P. Rameshaiah said the girl was rescued when she was being handed over to another person at a lodge in the town.
The accused, including the 52-year-old Velpula Jayamma and her son, both of Gollagudem village, were arrested on the spot.
Two girls, including the one who was freed in the day, were in the captivity of the accused for quite some time.
Three mobile phones, an auto rickshaw and a motor cycle were seized from the accused

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]]> Sun, 04 Jan 2009 07:01:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/563379 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Man gets RI for forcing minor into flesh-trade http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/559027

Man gets RI for forcing minor into flesh-trade
22 Dec 2008, 0459 hrs IST, TNN
PUNE: Additional sessions judge T M Jahagirdhar on Saturday sentenced brothel owner Sonal Roy (34) of Nepal to five-year rigorous imprisonment for inducing a minor girl into prostitution. In March last year, activists Somling Kamble and James Varghese of US-based organisation Freedom Firm received a tip-off that a minor girl has been induced into prostitution in the red-light district in Budhwar Peth. The activists, with the help of sub-inspector Gajanan Pawar of the Faraskhana police, rescued the 16-year-old victim on March 16, 2007. Roy, who had "bought" the girl from an unidentified woman, was arrested under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act. Additional public prosecutor C G Kulkarni examined six witnesses to establish Roy's guilt. Of the six, the panch witness had turned hostile. Rohit Takawane, the lawyer appointed by Freedom Firm to assist Kulkarni, said after the trial that the organisation had flown the victim to Pune from West Bengal to depose in court. Freedom Firm works to prevent child abuse, Takawane said.

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]]> Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:12:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/559027 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Human trafficking network busted in Khammam http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/558951 THE HINDU
Regional
Human trafficking network busted in Khammam
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 : 1830 Hrs

Hyderabad (PTI): Andhra Pradesh police have busted a human trafficking network and rescued three girls while arresting seven persons including six women involved in the racket in Khammam district.
The rescued girls including a second year Intermediate student were sent to rehabilitation centre for counseling and rehabilitation, Khammam district Superintendent of Police M M Bhagwat told PTI on Wednesday.
The human trafficking network was exposed when a victim girl recently lodged a complaint stating that one Dharavath Nagulu trapped her and forced her to indulge in prostitution at Khammam town, Vijayawada city and other places, Bhagwat said.
On the basis of the complaint police teams conducted raids at various places and arrested Nagulu, kingpin of the racket and six women who were involved in selling girls to brothel houses at Khammam, Kodada, Vijayawada and Mumbai, he said.
Nagulu reported to have confessed that he was involved in human trafficking for the last five years, the SP said. Three other accused in the racket are absconding and efforts are on to nab them, Bhagwat said.

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]]> Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:12:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/558951 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Inter student among minors rescued http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/558953


Date:25/12/2008



Police launch major drive against human trafficking
Police recommend immediate relief, compensation to the girls
Khammam accounts for a number of forced prostitution cases, says SP







Trainee sub-divisional police officer Janaki Sharmila listening to one of the rescued girls.





KHAMMAM: Three minor girls, including a junior college student, were freed from forced prostitution as part of a major operation launched in the district against human trafficking. The initiative spearheaded by Superintendent of Police Mahesh M. Bhagwat resulted in the arrest of some 11 persons accused in the prostitution racket.
One of the minor girls sold to a brothel in the red light area of Mumbai managed to escape and return to Khammam while two others were found to be pregnant. The police department has recommended an immediate relief of Rs 10,000 to each of the girls besides a compensation ranging up to Rs 1 lakh. They would be sent to the rehabilitation centre for counselling.
He said Daravath Nagulu, a resident of Balapet Tanda who had been in the flesh trade for over five years sold girls from the district in Mumbai. He enjoyed the support of affluent clientele in places such as Vijayawada and Kodad. Boda Ramesh, another person accused in the case, was also arrested along with nine others as part of the drive.
The Police department is working on information that similar gangs were operating in other parts of the district including Yellandu area trying to lure gullible women into flesh trade.
He said Khammam accounted for a substantial number of girls forced into prostitution. Out of 45 women set free by the State police from the red light area of Mumbai in 2007, some 15 women were from the district.
The SP said the breakthrough in the drive owed itself to the efforts of the Khammam sub divisional police officer, Rameshaiah, the trainee DSP, Janaki Sharmila and CI, Khammam rural, Syed Sarwar. The constables and head constable who took part in the operation would be suitably rewarded.

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]]> Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:12:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/558953 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Police to play bigger role in AIDS awareness http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/544571 Police to play bigger role in AIDS awareness
Staff Reporter
Audio CD of ‘kala jathas’ on the dreaded disease released

Mee Nestam to be launched in West Godavari district

KHAMMAM: Superintendent of Police Mahesh M. Bhagwat said here on Monday that the police would opt for playing a bigger role in raising the awareness levels in the general public on aids. Releasing an audio CD of the police ‘kala jatha’ teams on the dreaded disease at a programme organized a part of the World Ids Day, he said all the police stations in the district were instructed to organise awareness meetings on the occasion.
It is not end of the road for the positive people, he said adding that such people would be able to live a longer and happy life in a right environment. The spread of AIDS owed much to the sexual transmission. “ If you are loyal to your partner you are safe.” The police personnel, who are expected to be battle ready all the time with total physical fitness in the present circumstances, should not fall prey to the disease. The problem was felt more in cities like Mumbai where in a sizeable segment of people had been working away from their families. The sex workers in the red light areas were often forced reportedly for unprotected sex, but it would be fatal. He wanted the HIV tests conducted before marriage as they would help avoid a greater risk in life. But it should not be forced only upon women. It should be made mandatory even for men. Many advanced medicines were being made available in the market to enhance the life of the positive people. The HIV positive people should not try to conceal their problem. Their families should be kept informed. He said the youth, who could help create more awareness among the tribal communities by communicating in their own language, would be inducted in the ‘kala jathas’.
He announced a cash award of Rs 5,000 for the cultural teams which came out with the CD.

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]]> Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:12:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/544571 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Bangalore: Sex change racket - Financer arrested http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/522691 Bangalore: Sex change racket - Financer arrested
Bangalore November 10, 2008: Bangalore City police have today arrested a financier for his alleged involvement in a major sex change racket in the city.
The police, who had busted the racket yesterday with the arrest of two eunuchs for kidnapping a boy and coercing him into prostitution after his sex was changed, had succeeded in arresting kingpin Rajanna from the city and they were on the look out for a doctor, who operated the boy in Andhra Pradesh, the sources said.
They said the ninth standard student had been identified as Chandrashekhar of T Dasarhalli in the city. He was taken to Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh for the sex change in March, when his parents had filed a missing complaint with the police.The racket involves in kidnapping, castrating and eventually forcing them into begging and prostitution.
The boy revealed that he had gone to Kadapa and underwent a couple of surgeries and got his sex changed before being named as Shilpa. The only son of labour Venkatappa was then forced into the business of prostitution and begging. The money he collected from the day was given to Rajanna, who had financed his surgery in Kadapa. Rajanna had also made the arrangement of Rs 50,000 for the breast transplant in a city hospital.
The boy has been admitted to Victoira hospital for rejuvenating his genitals. The Chief Minister's office has come forward to bear the medical expenses for the operation, they added. According to a report, there were about 25,000 transgenders in the city

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]]> Mon, 10 Nov 2008 10:11:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/522691 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Transsexuals' arrest points at racket http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/521957 Transsexuals' arrest points at racket
8 Nov 2008, 2353 hrs IST, TNN
Bangalore : With the arrest of two transsexuals, the police have stumbled upon a racket where boys are kidnapped and pushed into prostitution after a sex change operation. The arrested are Basavaraj alias Mangala and Baby alias Madhu. Police are on the lookout for five more persons, including a doctor from Andhra Pradesh who allegedly conducted the surgeries, and Rajanna, who finances such operations. DCP (north-east) Basavaraj Malagatthi said the racket has existed for a while and the police are verifying how many more children might have been kidnapped and pushed into sex work. Raj (name changed), a class IX student from Dasarahalli, was missing since March 23 and his father had lodged a complaint. The police found a sex worker named Shilpa, and on interrogation realized she was in fact the missing boy. During the investigation, police picked up Mangala and Baby, who had kidnapped Raj. He was allegedly drugged and taken to Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh, where he was operated upon at Naganna Hospital and kept for a month. `Shilpa' was then brought to Bangalore and pushed into sex work by Rajanna, who runs a brothel. He is also said to have financed the operation and transportation. During the same period, Mangala got a breast transplantation at the hospital at a cost of Rs 60,000, police said. "This is the work of an organized racket. Besides Mangala and Baby, three other transsexuals -- Nandini, Sowmya and Apurva -- are involved. We are sure many other children have been kidnapped, and are trying to find out the details,'' Malgatthi said.

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]]> Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:11:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/521957 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Nine girls en route to Indian brothels rescued http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/521959 Nine girls en route to Indian brothels rescued
Anti girl trafficking volunteers rescued nine Nepalese girls last week from a frontier Indian town of Raxaul which is adjacent to Birgunj in Parsa district and handed them over to Maiti Nepal, reports said.
The girls, most of whom were minors, were rescued while being taken to Indian capital New Delhi by volunteers with the Cross-Border Anti-Trafficking Network, an NGO based in Raxaul, and then handed them over to the Birgunj branch of Maiti Nepal.
The report quoted Maiti Nepal Birgunj branch head Sangeeta Puri as saying that Phoolmaya Magar, 50, was taking the girls, who were from Mahottari and Sarlahi districts, to India to sell them into brothels where they would be forced to work as commercial sex workers.
Puri said that the girls have already been handed over to their parents. But it was not known through the report whether Magar was arrested.
Hundreds of Nepalese girls from the impoverished hilly districts of the country are trafficked to Indian metropolis mostly through Raxaul every year despite concerted efforts by Maiti Nepal and other anti-trafficking networks to put a lid on this appalling human tragedy.
After ending up in brothels in big Indian cities like New Delhi and Mumbai, the girls have to often go through intense suffering in the form of physical and mental tortures including depravation in uninhabitable places where they long to see the sun for years. It is estimated that more than 100,000 Nepalese girls and women currently work in brothels across India. nepalnews.com ag Nov 09 08

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]]> Sun, 09 Nov 2008 05:11:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/521959 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Microsoft India announces two new grants to CAP Foundation http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/518051 Microsoft India announces two new grants to CAP Foundation
Microsoft to fund Rs. 1.61 Crore for IT skills projects in Anti-trafficking and Overseas Workers training
Gurgaon, Haryana, IND, 2008-11-05 10:38:21 (IndiaPRwire.com)
Under the Unlimited Potential vision, Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited today announced an additional funding of Rs. 1.61 crore to CAP Foundation through its Community Technology Skills Program (CTSP) to promote IT access and training to communities vulnerable to unsafe migration and human trafficking. This announcement was made at a valedictory function for graduates of CAP Foundation training courses, attended by senior representatives from Microsoft, CAP Foundation and USAID/India. Addressing one of the root causes of unemployment in India, CAP Foundation provides employability skills training and economic empowerment to individuals and youth in at-risk communities.
Speaking at the event, Nancy Anderson, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation, USA said, “Access to information and communication technology holds tremendous potential to be the change agent for creating a more equitable order of economic opportunities and sustainable development. Every life that Project Jyoti - our Community Technology Skills Program in India - has helped transform through IT skills training is a testament to this. I am glad to deepen the engagement with our partner CAP Foundation for continuing to reach out to underserved individuals and changing lives”.
In his comments, Mr. George Deikun, Mission Director, USAID/India, said, “USAID is privileged to be a part of this very exciting initiative which links learning with livelihood. It is revolutionizing the way vulnerable youth, who have little prospect of employment, are mainstreamed into society”.
Expressing her views, Ms. Nalini Gangadharan, Chairperson, CAP Foundation, said, “Under the Microsoft and USAID-supported program, disadvantaged youth acquire basic IT skills, technical domain skills in fast expanding sectors, as well as life skills. It is a concrete step in positively changing the course of an individual’s life”.
Microsoft has so far partnered with 13 NGOs for on-the-ground CTSP program implementation in India, supported close to 900 Community Technology Learning Centres (CTLCs) across the country, and trained more than 120,000 people in approximately 20 states and Union Territories in IT skills based on the Unlimited Potential curriculum.
Under the grants announced by Microsoft, for phase II of an ongoing anti-human trafficking project, CAP Foundation will get Rs 1.18 crores in cash, software and curriculum across 30 training centres focusing on high migration and trafficking pockets in 15 states and union territories. A total of 44,800 at-risk youth from economically disadvantaged communities especially vulnerable to trafficking will receive IT and other skills training over three years. Most significantly, 80% of them are expected to be placed in jobs. This continues the momentum of phase I (2006-2008) of the project which was supported by USAID and QUEST Alliance for digitization of life skills content for improved delivery of the training.
A second project for IT skills training of Overseas Workers to assist their safe migration will get Rs 42.53 lakhs in cash, software and curriculum donations from Microsoft for 3 training centres in Hyderabad, Chennai and Ranchi. Around 6000 workers who have made the decision to migrate overseas for employment and are registered with Overseas Migration Corporations or similar agencies in India will receive pre-migration related employability skills training, certification and placement assistance. In addition to enabling professional advancement and safer, more informed migration, technology training will also help overseas workers transition more easily to life overseas and remain in closer contact with their families back home via use of ICT.
- End -
About CAP Foundation (www.capfoundation.in)
The mission of CAP Foundation is to link learning and livelihood for youth at risk by providing a holistic education and livelihood promotion module which combines formal education with employability skill development training, life skills, job placement and career exploration opportunities, using experience to develop confident individuals capable of self directed growth.
About Microsoft India (www.microsoft.com/india)
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft Corporation India Private Ltd is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation USA. It has had a presence in India since 1990 and currently has offices in 16 cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jamshedpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, New Delhi, and Pune.
About USAID India (http://www.usaid.gov/in)
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is the principal U.S. agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance to countries around the world. Despite India’s booming economic growth, large segments of the youth population lack the education and skills necessary for success in the modern economy. To address this gap, USAID/India supports the Workforce Development Initiative (Ek Mouka or one opportunity) implemented by the CAP Foundation, which mobilizes poor and marginally educated youth and provides them with training in the skills demanded by industry
==================================

Congratulations to Aasara project partner ' CAP foundation'

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]]> Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:11:00 EST http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/518051 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Trafficking Victims recount their ordeal http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/508831 Trafficking Victims recount their ordeal
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, October 13 2008:
Recounting their ordeal, the five Zeliangrong girls who were taken to Singapore on promises of jobs but landed up in a night club at Malaysia have said that agent Rickey Ho who took them to Malaysia and sold them off in a night club is a 'dangerous man' and any girl or boy from Manipur who are planning to go to Singapore under his guidance or other agents who have connection with him should stop at once.
Talking to mediapersons at the office of Rongmei Naga Baptist Association located at Langol Tarung here today, the five girls said the agent Rickey Ho is a Chinese who runs an NGO from Singapore and always tries to lure Manipuri girls to come to Singapore and Malaysia where he exploits them.The five girls informed that Rickey even watches Manipuri films and keep the photographs of Manipuri actors and actresses stored in his computer.
They said that at present there may be more than 100 girls from Manipur in Singapore and Malaysia who have been recruited by Rickey Ho.
In Singapore, the girls were made to work as domestic helps but not in Malaysia, the five girls said, adding that only when they told the truth they are not prostitutes that they managed to escape from the last hotel in Malaysia where they were kept locked up.
Before the escape, one man had even come to solicit them inside the hotel room.But when they told the truth, he left quietly without saying any word, the five victims said.While staying at Malaysia, two agents working under Rickey Ho namely Mike and Sheela had tortured them so much so that they had even thought of committing suicide.
Expressing gratitude to SDPO Tamenglong and other NGOs who have helped them in coming back to Imphal safely, the five girls said that they would remain indebted and never be able to forget the help throughout their life.Meanwhile, it is said that the whereabouts of three more young girls, two from Thangal Village under Nungba Sub-division of Tamenglong District and the other from Nengsai village, have not been known after they have been taken to Singapore.
One Lungchui Golmei , a resident of Thangal village, who was present during the press conference identified the three missing girls as Shanti Maringmai (20) d/o Ading, Merry Maringmai (18) d/o Nungreiba and Tabitha d/o Kumar Meitei.Three of them have been reportedly gone together along with Ningtingliu (17), younger sister of Merry Maringmai sometime during the month of February-March this year.However, Ningtingliu has returned back.Golmei informed that for the first two-three months, the family members used to have contact with the three girls but not any more.It has been known that one person from Loktak Project area had taken the three girls.But the name of the person has not yet been able to identity, Golmei said, while informing he would convince the worried family members to take up the matter with Rongmei Women Union, Naga People Movement for Human Rights and Zeliangrong Students' Union and seek help in tracing the missing girls.
The president of Rongmei Naga Women's Organisation (Assam, Manipur and Nagaland) Panti Golmei has called upon all the social organisations for co-operation in rescuing the rest of the girls who are currently living in Malaysia as well as in stopping trafficking of young girls from Manipur in future

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]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:10:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/508831 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Manipuri victims of human trafficking reach home finally http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/501609 Manipuri victims of human trafficking reach home finally

Source : The Imphal Free PressIMPHAL, Oct 11: All the five girl victims of human trafficking from Manipur and Assam to Malaysia arrived at Kolkata yesterday from Malaysia via Chennai. The girls from Manipur reached Imphal this afternoon.After lobbying with the officials of the Indian and Malaysian governments for a whole month they were brought back from Malaysia yesterday, said North East Helpline in a statement today.
The girls were, however, not accompanied by any women officials of the Manipur government as well as India government and this was strongly condemned by the NE Support Centre and Helpline which also expressed dissatisfaction over the neglect by the government.A spokesperson of the helpline, Madhu Chandra confirmed over phone the arrival of the girls and said that the five victims of human trafficking arrived at Chennai and Kolkata from Kuala Lumpur early yesterday without any lady officials accompanying them.
Four of them hailing from Manipur further arrived at Imphal airport this afternoon and were taken away by their respective families from the Imphal airport, reports said.Mention may be made the NE Support Centre and Helpline took a major role in facilitating the return of the girls to India from Malaysia after they escaped from a night club where they were allegedly sold by their traffickers.At their arrival, they were taken to Kolkata Manipur Bhavan under the care of the resident commissioner for a night’s stay without any women companion, it added.
Dr. Alana Golmei, a social worker from New Delhi along with two women from the same community and a brother of one of the girls went to receive them at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport yesterday but they were not allowed to meet the girls at the airport.Further they were refused entry into the Manipur Bhavan to meet them, the spokesperson said.NE Helpline also alleged that the residential commissioner of Manipur Bhavan, Kolkata, Dr. MK Singh intentionally refused to respond when they attempted to contact them.Madhu Chandra also blamed the Indian foreign ministry for not arranging women officials to accompany the victims from Chennai to Kolkata. “Arranging a male official to accompany the girls added more trauma and suffering,” Chandra said.Abel and Joe Networking Pvt. Ltd. (www.abelnjoe.com), a company based at Singapore through its newly opened branches in north east India have reportedly recruited nearly 150 girls from the region on the promise of jobs in Singapore.
Five of the victims who managed to escaped and arrived at Imphal today were also recruited by Abel and Joe Networking Pvt. Ltd. and kept for three months in Singapore without any work and later they were taken by the traffickers to Malaysia.The victims sought shelter at the Indian High Commission, Kuala Lumpur after they realized they were being trafficked. Later, they took shelter under the care of Pastor David and his wife in Kuala Lumpur.Earlier on September 29, a delegation led by public affairs national secretary of the All India Christian Council, Dr. Sam Paul along with Madhu Chandra, and Lansinglu Rongmei, president of North East Support Centre and Helpline met the National Commission for Women, High Commission of Malaysia and Union minister for tribal affairs PR Kyndia and appealed to the concerned Indian and Malaysian authorities for repatriation of the helpless girls.NE Support Centre and Helpline have also, in the meantime, asked the ministry of external affairs, north eastern state governments and South Asian countries to watch over the activities of Singapore based Abel and Joe Networking Pvt. Ltd. and ban their branches operating in the north eastern region.

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]]> Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:10:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/501609 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Notorious pimp arrested in city http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/497803 Notorious pimp arrested in city
CHENNAI: The long arm of the law finally caught up with Poonga Venkadesan, a top pimp in the city. A special CB-CID team, led by ADGP Archana Ramasundaram, arrested him. Venkadesan had been evading the police dragnet for the past five years. Over 15 anti-trafficking cases are pending against him.Ever since a major sex racket was busted in the city in August, the police had been on the look out for Venkadesan. He came to Chennai as a youth from Madurai to work as room boy in a lodge.Subsequently, he turned into a major supplier of call girls for affluent clients through the contacts he established over the years.He was arrested on Sunday night at GST Road. The police then raided a house in Madambakkam, from where he had been operating of late. They seized two cars, a motorbike, a wristwatch worth Rs 17,000, a three-sovereign gold chain and two mobile phones from the house. The police had been following Venkadesan’s movements - he used to shuttle between Andhra Pradesh, from where be procured girls for his racket, and Chennai - for a month before the arrest.The search for him was intensified after one of his associates, Joe alias Joseph, of Munnar, was arrested at a house that was being used as a brothel by Venkadesan in Sithalapakkam in August.The racket was then busted with the help of a police decoy. Posing as a client, a plainclothesman called up Mani from Andhra Pradesh, who used to drive girls brought to the city by Venkadesan to various delivery points, and asked if he could supply two women. The driver brought two woman to Old Mahabilipuram and landed in the police net. The car he drove was seized and the two women rescued by the police,who subsequently found another woman kept in a room in VGP beach resorts on ECR. Mani’s arrest had then led the police to the Sithalapakkam house

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]]> Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:10:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/497803 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Local girl escapes traffickers in Malaysia, local recruiting agent arrested http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/487833 Local girl escapes traffickers in Malaysia, local recruiting agent arrested

Source : The Imphal Free PressIMPHAL, Sept 24: The escape of a teenage girl from Manipur from the custody of an organisation which poses itself as job recruiting agency based in Singapore has exposed what might be a organised human trafficking racket with international dimension spreading its tentacles in the state.It is also now evident, the recruiting agency Abel amp; Leo Private Ltd, has a strong presence in the Northeast, including in Manipur.The account of the escaped girl, revealed that in all four teenage girls including her (all names and particulars of the girls are now known), belonging to remote villages in the Tamenglong district, had been lured by a local recruiting agent, allegedly one Philip Gangmei, and taken abroad, first to Singapore, and then to Malaysia.Philip Gangmei, against whom a first information report, FIR, had been lodged on September 22 with the Tamenglong police by the districts child welfare committee, has since been arrested in Imphal, where he had come to appear for the current MPSC examination for MCS and MPS posts.According to the Nandini Thokchom, director, child and gender unit of the Forum for Indigenous Perspectives and Action (FIPA), efforts are now being made by NGOS working against trafficking for the safe repatriation of the girls.It may be recalled another five village girls who were taken by the same organisation were intercepted on the way to Singapore at Dimapur in August 2008.The public fear now is, these developments may only be the proverbial tip of the iceberg.In the current case, a group of four young girls were taken to Singapore by a group of employers promising them employment and a reasonable salary in January 2008. One girl who managed to escape, said she was kept as a domestic helper at an Oriya family’s (Indian) house in Singapore for some time.However, all four were taken to Kuala Lampur, Malaysia by Abel amp; Leo Private Ltd. According to the escaped girl, who is now taking refuge in the Indian High Commission in Kuala Lampur, the said agency came over and convinced the Oriya family that she needs to be taken elsewhere on medical grounds. However, the girl said she was given a different explanation. They told her that she would be given a more decent job and that such jobs are available only in Malaysia. She protested that she did not want to leave Singapore but they insisted and forcibly took her there along with her other three friends.At around 9.30 pm (Indian Standard Time) on 7 August, 2008 (Sunday) the girl called up Achungmei Kamei, a social worker in Manipur, from a public telephone boot and informed her how she has been taken to Kuala Lumpur. Achungmei was informed that she was severely tortured. She was beaten on her legs which were swollen badly. She also informed that she wants to come back home safely.She informed that on arrival in Kuala Lumpur they were kept in a shady hall and their passports were also taken away. She got suspicious of the whole affairs and protested. Later, because she was defiant, she was isolated from the rest of the group and kept in a separate room. She further narrated that a few men came to her room and misbehaved with her and tried to take advantage sexually. She fought back but she was over powered and beaten up brutally. They left her alone after sometime. It was the same day in the evening when no one was around that she managed to escape. She took a taxi and sought help at the Indian High Commission. The staff at the High Commission contacted Pastor Jeyabal David who is now providing her all the necessary support.She has contacted her other abducted friends over the phone and they informed that they were still being kept at the same place. The so-called agency has also contacted her over her mobile phone and is persuading her to come back on the ground that she would be given a good job.A late report by Pastor David said two more girls escaped. All their passports have been taken away by the human traffickers. These young girls are in danger and needs immediate physical and legal protection as they are in a foreign land without legal documents.According to a plea to the IG intelligence Manipur, by Kinderson Pamei, chairperson, child welfare committee, Tamenglong, at least 150 indigenous female children and young women, majority of them of the Zeliangrong Naga community were recruited with promises of jobs to Singapore by a Singapore based NGOs Abel and Leo Private Ltd. under the leadership of Ricky Ho.The letter said Ho’s men are spread over India, Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines. In India, his men are scattered around penetrating to village level at Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya, Assam and West Bengal in particular, the letter said

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]]> Fri, 26 Sep 2008 08:09:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/487833 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Concern over child trafficking http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/464149 THE HINDU

NEW DELHI: The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has expressed concern over incidents of child trafficking in the name of adoption as highlighted by media reports.
The reports said a Chennai-based adoption agency fabricated records of children and placed them for adoption in 2000.
In a statement issued here on Monday, CARA chairman J.K. Mittal said action was taken against the agency on receipt of a complaint and it was de-licensed in 2002. A criminal case was also filed against the agency and the matter was pending in court.
No such incident was reported in recent times against any Indian adoption agency by any individual or agency from any part of the world, the statement said.
Strict monitoring
According to Mr. Mittal, CARA monitored the activities of all adoption agencies based in India and children were placed for adoption only after a thorough investigation of their records.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Queensland family ‘devastated’ by Indian child trafficking claims
By Indo-Asian News Service on Monday, August 25, 2008

A Queensland family has been “absolutely devastated” by revelations that their adopted child could have been stolen from her biological parents in India and that they face the risk of the adoption being revoked.
“This is a terrible predicament for a family that loves their adopted child and for the Indian family that has lost a child and as a mother my heart goes out to them,” Queensland Child Safety Minister Margaret Keech said in a statement as her department offers support to the family concerned.
A TIME magazine report said nine-year-old Zabeen, now reportedly living in Queensland with her adoptive parents, was kidnapped in Chennai when she was two years old.
Australia’s adoption processes are rigorous and it only deals with countries that are signatories to The Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-Country Adoption.
“Under the Hague Convention, birth parents may bring an action in an Australian Court to have the adoption revoked. However, any decision would be a matter for the courts, which would apply the principle of protecting the best interests of the child,” a spokesman for Attorney General Robert McClelland told IANS Monday.
Figures from the Attorney-General’s Department show 327 or 10 percent of overseas adoptions between 1997-98 and 2006-07 were from India.
“Under Australian law, these children are Australian citizens and the children of the adoptive parents,” the spokesman told IANS.
Few Indian children are adopted by Australian families because the Indian law requires that 50 percent of children requiring adoptive families be placed with Indian couples within India. The next priority is placing children with Indian nationals living abroad. Only a small percentage of children are adopted by non-Indian couples and tend to be older children or children with special needs.
When Australian couples have been approved to adopt from India, the Adoption Services Queensland (ASQ) makes contact with different Indian agencies to determine whether or not they will accept the couple’s file.
“I am advised that adoptions from India have to be authorised by a court. The adoption of the Queensland child who was allegedly stolen was authorised by the Madras High Court in March 2000. ASQ’s role was to approve families as suitable adoptive families and to send the file to overseas countries for processing,” Keech said.
“I am advised that ASQ dealt with the official Indian government adoption agency - The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) and Malaysian Social Services (MSS), a CARA-endorsed agency. All adoption placement agencies in India had to be registered with CARA,” Keech added.
When the child theft allegations first came to light, it is said ASQ had conducted an audit of Indian children who were adopted into Queensland between 1995 and 2007. Only two of the 23 adoptions during that period were through MSS, with one of those two adoptions in 1995 - well before the period (1998-99) during which children were allegedly kidnapped in India.
Australia has offered to assist with any investigations into alleged claims that “pretty” children kidnapped from Indian slums have been adopted by Australian families.
Joining in the debate Monday, federal opposition leader Brendan Nelson has said Australia had a moral responsibility to return any children who may have been stolen.
“Let us hope the inquiry, in fact, does not find that children have been effectively kidnapped. And the right thing, we would expect in most cases, will be to look at returning them to their rightful families,” Nelson said.
Meanwhile, the state government of Tasmania is conducting its own audit of overseas adoptions.
According to a report in TIME Magazine, At least 120 children were kidnapped from slums in southern India and were sold to a Chennai-based adoption agency MSS for as little as $280, before being sent overseas. Nearly a dozen of these children have ended up being adopted in Australia

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]]> Tue, 26 Aug 2008 06:08:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/464149 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Predators on the prowl http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/463385 Tuesday August 26 2008
Lakshmy Venkiteswaran
It is a crime that happens all the time, almost everywhere, but it rarely seems to register on anyone’s radar. Child Sexual Abuse (CSA) is much more common than people believe. Last year, in a study of over 17,000 children from 13 states, the Ministry of Women and Child Development found that over 50 per cent of them reported facing one or more forms of sexual abuse.
The abuse of a child involves a manipulative process that traps the victim in a secret relationship designed only to provide sexual gratification to the predator. Despite greater awareness today, the common perception still seems to be, ‘it doesn’t happen in my home’, or ‘it just happened once’.
The trauma suffered by 35-year old Rakesh in his school days shows how abusers never stop with one child. “My dad was diabetic so he couldn’t play with me.” His father had heard of a coach who trained boys for free in volleyball. “The training started when I was in class six. From the first day, my coach became my hero.”
“After training, he would always make me sit on his lap. Now I know that he would get an erection whenever I sat on his lap. But at that time, I didn’t understand what it was. To me, I was just happy that my coach thought I was special,” Rakesh recalls. The coach was a regular visitor to the family. When Rakesh’s father had to be hospitalised, he stayed in the coach’s house until his father returned home. Rakesh recalls that the coach made him scrub his back in the bath. Worse things happened, he says.

“I was too terrified to go back there and refused to attend training.” His older brother Ram, however, continued training until he reached high school. It wasn’t until Ram was in college that Rakesh could talk about it. And what they discovered was shocking. “Because I had stopped training, coach used Ram the same way,” he says with tears in his eyes.
Rakesh learnt that some of his teammates in school too suffered the same fate. “Nobody blames me for not telling. But I can’t help feeling that if I had told someone, maybe somebody could have stopped this. I feel ashamed that I let it happen. What’s worse is that he sodomised my brother and other kids repeatedly for many years.” The last he heard, the coach had moved to another country. Vidya Reddy of the Tulir-Centre for the Prevention and Healing of Child Sexual Abuse, Chennai says she has never heard of a one-time offender. “Abuse happens repeatedly. More often than not, the abuser is from the family or a friend of the family. Until we stop protecting the abuser, he/she will never stop.”
“If an incident of sexual abuse in a school, for instance, is reported, the management may fire the abuser,” Vidya adds. “But what’s stopping him from getting a job in another school in the same city or another city? Many schools don’t do background checks or crosscheck credentials.” For every case that is reported, many others go unreported. “We get almost a dozen calls every day, but in the end the victims are too scared to file a report,” says a volunteer at a help centre. Another problem in the effort to check this phenomenon is getting a verdict. “When the report is filed, the abused is a child. By the time the case comes to court, he/she is an adult,” reasons Pooja Taparia of Arpan. “Trials take a long time and they’re well into their adulthood, also shouldering societal stigma.” Vidya cites an incident in Chennai. “The lady is the principal of a well-known school in which abuse was reported. She told me her son was getting marriage proposals and if the intended bride had been sexually abused, she would not accept the proposal. To say I was stunned is an understatement.” Often, children conceal the fact of abuse to protect a loved one. “There was a girl who was abused by her best friend’s father. Whenever she visited her friend’s house, the father would fondle her,” says Pushpa Venkatraman, counsellor and trainer at Arpan. “When she informed her friend, the girl implored her to not complain.” The reason her friend gave was that her parents were always fighting and something like this would only make it worse. “The father abused the daughter too, hence the fights between the parents. Can you imagine this child’s condition?” Sometimes the abuse takes place with adults in the same room. Vidya highlighted the case of a swimming coach who fondled children while teaching them, in plain sight of parents and guardians all around the pool. “Many parents stopped sending their children to this coach. But just because you stop sending your child to this particular person, it doesn’t mean he’ll stop what he’s doing. Adult offenders never stop with one kid.” School authorities play a significant role in educating children and parents on sexual abuse. “The parent-teacher associations should evolve a specific sex education programme,” says Pinki Virani, author of Bitter Chocolate. Parents need to educate kids by answering questions about body parts. “We use every word other than the simple biological ones for penis, vagina, breasts and anus. If you don’t use the right words you cannot teach your child the difference between a ‘good touch’ and a ‘bad touch’.” For the cases that are reported, identification and prosecution of molesters presents a serious dilemma to lawyers and activists. The recent acquittal of the two Britons accused of paedophilia by the Bombay High Court in the Anchorage Shelters case shows that a new law needs to be formulated to handle CSA effectively. Maharukh Adenwalla, the lawyer who represented the boys in this case, says the yardstick to weigh an adult’s statement in a court of law should not be applied to a child’s statement. “How can you expect children to be as coherent as an adult? Going through the trial is traumatic enough.” A case in point is Sakshi v. Union of India (2004). The child was gangraped when she was 10 and the case came to trial when she was 13. “The cross-examination lasted three days. She had to repeat the incident in the courtroom in the presence of the accused without a counsellor. In CSA cases, video conferencing should be encouraged with a counsellor present.” CSA cases are often tried under the rape law (Section 376) that says the perpetrator has to be a male and the victim female. The age of consent is 16. “The major weakness of this law is that only penile penetration is considered a grave sexual offence,” says Geetha Ramaseshan, activist-advocate, Madras High Court. “The crime is considered lesser when it is oral, or through penetration with an object. If the abused is a boy, there is no law under which a case can be filed.” In the absence of a clear law, and with convictions so difficult to get, it is no wonder that the abusers feel secure enough to continue their spree. lakshmy@epmltd.com "why doesn’t my family believe me?" “My music teacher would slap the insides of my thigh when I hit a wrong note,” recalls Latha, a working woman in her thirties. “He used to eat paan and slap my thigh. He would then rub his stained fingers on my panties. He would not move his hand for a while. And every time I sang a wrong pitch, he would pinch my vagina.” The reason for such a punishment was that she was his best student and he was doing this for her own good. Where was her mother? “My mum is a homemaker. She didn’t have anyone to help her. The only time she could buy vegetables or run errands was during my music class.” One day, when Latha cried out in pain while she urinated, her mother asked if she had hurt herself while playing. “I told her ‘master pinched me’. The next thing I remember was a stinging sensation on my cheek. She slapped me and warned me that if I ever lied again about him, she would complain to my maths teacher.” The abuse went on until Latha became a teenager and refused to train under him. “He used to come home every year for Diwali and Onam till I was in college. I told my family about everything but even now nobody believes me.” He stopped visiting for a while when her boyfriend, after listening to her ordeal, threatened him with ‘serious bodily harm’. “When physical intimacy with my boyfriend became a problem, I told him everything. He made me realise, over a period of time, that it was not my fault and that I had nothing to be ashamed of. But somehow I can’t help feeling that my family betrayed me. I don’t understand why they continue to welcome this sick man to our home.” Fact file The Ministry for Women and Child Development conducted a study on CSA in April 2007 with a sample size of 17, 220 children from 13 states. Among the results were the following: More than 53 per cent of children reported facing one or more forms of sexual abuse The majority (52.94 per cent) of victims were boys 50 per cent of the sexual offenders were known to the victim or were in positions of trust (either family member, close relative, friend or neighbour). Onset of abuse was as early as five years in some cases Boys were equally at risk as girls 73 per cent of the victims were in the 11-18 age group Delhi reported the highest abuse among boys — 65.64 per cent A study by Tulir (2006) among 2,211 school children in Chennai, revealed: CSA prevalence rate of 42 per cent 15 per cent of both boys and girls had been severely abused. 48 per cent of the abused were boys and the prevalence rate among girls was 39 per cent

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]]> Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:08:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/463385 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 The scourge of human trafficking in India http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/460809 The scourge of human trafficking in India

Measures to control human trafficking have met with little success for a variety of reasons. The law could address not all of these; society has to contribute its mite to address the problem. Fortunately things are looking up!.
CJ: Sandhya Nigam , 17 Mar 2008
WHEN MONA was 13 years, her mother died and her father remarried. The stepmother was uncomfortable with Mona and wanted to send her away for some job, where she would be able to look after herself. Along came a ”contractor” who arranged jobs for youngsters as domestic help, etc. He paid a certain sum of money to the stepmother and took Mona to a town far away. He got her a job in a massage parlour as a ‘receptionist’. Even before Mona got to know the work profile, she realized that she had been trapped into sexual exploitation. She had become a sexual slave to the ‘customers’ who frequented the place for full-body massage.

Mona is no exception. She is one of the millions of women and children being trafficked and exploited. Mona’s case presents a typical trafficking scenario. Human trafficking (HT) is one of the gravest violations of human dignity and human rights. Trafficking can be classified under three heads: (a) for commercial sexual exploitation or CSE, (b) for exploitative labour or EL and (c) for other forms of exploitation, like organ sale, camel jockeying, etc.

CSE could take place in a brothel or anywhere else like massage parlours and bars. The cause of trafficking is two-dimensional. One is the demand factor and the other is the vulnerability of the person being victimised. More the demand, more the crime. The vulnerability of the trafficked victim is another dimension. Vulnerability, as often quoted, is not exactly attributable to poverty. It is a culmination of several factors, including awareness of rights, lack of access to rights, illiteracy, disparities of income , the scope for exploitation of the victim, poor law enforcement, lack of public awareness and the ” culture of silence” to violation of rights of others.
Article 23 of the Constitution of India prohibits trafficking in any form. We have special legislations like the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA), 1956, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976 and the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000. The law enforcement scenario, seen from the traditional viewpoint, presents a dismal picture.
Research conducted by the National Human Rights Commission during 2002-2004 shows that the major issues in law enforcement are as follows:
1. Lack of priority-The law enforcement agencies and justice delivery agencies, for various reasons, accord lowest or nil priority to HT issues.
2. Insensitivity-The lack of sensitivity to human trafficking is a major challenge. It is more of an attitudinal issue.
3. Victimisation of the victim-More often, the trafficked women have been arrested and penalized for ‘soliciting’.
4 Improper Investigation-trafficking involves a long trail, starting from the source point, covering several transit points before terminating at the destination. But the investigation is more or less confined to the place where the victim is rescued. Victims remain more often unheard and unrepresented.
5. Organised crime perspective is lacking in investigation- HT involves several offenders like recruiters, transporters, traffickers, harbourers, exploiters and conspirators. But often, investigation is limited to those present at the scene of rescue. Human trafficking being an organized crime requires sharing of intelligence and an in-depth investigation into all linkages but this is rarely done.
6. Lack of co-ordination-The response to human trafficking requires co-ordination among the various government departments, like police, public welfare, health, women and child. The gap in co-ordination is a major challenge to the response system.
7. Lack of coordination with NGO’s- The ITPA and labour laws do assign specific role to NGO’s; however there is no institutionalized system of co-ordination between the law enforcement agencies and NGO’s.
8. Lack of Appreciation-Several instances of good work done by the police officers, researchers, NGO’s, etc, in controlling human trafficking can be cited. However such actions are not acknowledged and disseminated; often good news is no news and bad news is good news.
9. Lack of Emphasis on Rehabilitation- This is a major challenge which leads to not only victimization of victims but also re-trafficking of the rescued person. Despite the fact that several corporates set aside large funds for social responsibility, lack of synergy with the law enforcement agencies and NGO’s has been an impediment in effective dovetailing of such sources for rehabilitating the victim.

However, the emerging scenario is certainly positive. There are several initiatives launched across the country to address human trafficking in a comprehensive and effective manner. Some of these initiatives may be initiated by individuals who are committed to the cause and due to their initiatives, such steps are getting institutionalised. In fact, during the last six years of this century, there has been a growing momentum against human trafficking. The reasons may be many. First of all, credit should go to NGOs who have brought the HT issue into the national agenda. Secondly, several law enforcement officers and human rights activists have provided leadership and proper orientation in achieving better results in anti-human trafficking (AHT).

Increased awareness-There is a national momentum, involving various stake holders, especially the media, the corporates, government agencies including the law-enforcement wing and human rights agencies. One of the best examples is the Global Initiative in Fighting Human Trafficking (GIFT), initiated by UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime).

Holistic approach: Several agencies working together and attending to the issues of ‘PPP’(Prevention, Protection and Prosecution), in a concerted manner has been one of the features of the new response system. While police undertake rescue operations along with NGOs, other government departments immediately move in, to provide interim relief to the victims. The NGOs take over post-rescue care and attention in association with the government agencies concerned.

Synergy in action: The UNODC, New Delhi, in partnership with the government of India and State government agencies as well as civil society has set up ‘anti-human trafficking units’ (AHTU) in several states. AHTU is a special task force set up under the State police, by involving chosen police officers, NGOs and others who are specially trained for the purpose. UNODC has provided training and empowerment to these officers with focus on knowledge, skills and attitudinal orientation. These units are making a tremendous impact on the law enforcement scenario - for example, in a span of six months, the AHTUs in Andhra Pradesh have rescued more than 700 victims of which more than 100 are children under 18. The rescued victims are being promptly taken care of by the government as well as NGOs, most of them having been rehabilitated with the help of corporate and business houses. Excellent rehabilitation has been achieved through synergetic action.

AHT is an area, which beckons all those who are concerned with human rights. There is much to do and something to be done by everybody. It is everybody’s business. The question is whether one is a part of the problem or part of the solution. There is no third option. Therefore, all who are committed to human rights must join hands in this global initiative to fight human trafficking. We can together ensure that, Mona is safe in our home and community and that Mona lives with dignity, like all of us and it will be so with all the Mona’s.

Achievements of anti-human trafficking measures in five states (Jan-Sep 2007):

Trafficking crimes registered: 466
Rescue Operations: 96
NGOs associated in operations: 90 per cent
Victims rescued: 716
Minors rescued: 108
Traffickers arrested: 1020.
Customers’arrested: 332
Traffickers convicted: 2

Centres of exploitation closed: Andhra Pradesh and Goa.
Crimes prevented: numerous, though the numbers are not available.
Post-rescue care and attention provided to rescued persons: Cent percent

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]]> Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:08:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/460809 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444 Rally held against trafficking of women http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/460025
Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad
Rally held against trafficking of women
Special Correspondent
Groups of men take up unique initiative


For a cause: Cyclists displaying slogans during a rally against trafficking of women on Wednesday.
HYDERABAD: In a unique initiative to help find solution to the crime of trafficking of women and children, groups of men took out a cycle rally here on Wednesday.
The 16 km rally with the message ‘Trafficking can be prevented if men stopped buying sex’ was flagged off by Minister for Women and Child Welfare N. Rajyalakshmi at the Lalitha Kalathoranam.
The rally was organised by Prajwala, an NGO working against trafficking, and the Department of Women and Child Welfare.
Dr. Sunitha Krishnan of Prajwala said like any trade, prostitution too was governed by demand and supply factors. If men stopped visiting brothels, trafficking of women and children and atrocities against them would decline, she said.Sensitising men
‘Prajwala’ rescued and rehabilitated 2,500 women and their tales exposed the racket of sex trade in various pockets of country.
“We realised it is crucial to sensitise men to stop atrocities against women,” she said.
Ms. Rajyalakshmi said people staged dharnas and went on strike for various demands but did little to denounce exploitation of hapless women and children.
Appreciating men who took the lead against prostitution, she said several factors like broken homes, domestic violence, illiteracy, poverty, unemployment force women and children step out of homes in search of better future but they get trapped and are forced into prostitution.
WDamp;CW Principal Secretary Chaya Ratan said 70 per cent of trafficked women were young girls denying them their childhood and better future

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]]> Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:08:00 EDT http://mmbips.tigblog.org/post/460025 17.3752778 78.474444417.375277878.4744444