COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFIKCING IN ASSAM

NORTH EAST, INDIA

NEDAN FOUNDATION WARD NO 11, BODOFA NWGWR, KADAMTOLA

P.O. TITAGURI, DIST, KOKRAJHAR BODOLAND TERRITORIAL COUNCIL (BTC)

ASSAM-783374 Email: nedan-ne@yahoo.co.in

Website: www.nedan.in

Natural Calamity and Conflict related Displacement became Epi Centre of Human Trafficking in Assam, North East, India

South Asia, home to more than 2000 diverse ethnic entities is one of the poorest regions in

the world.

2.1 billion living on the less than $2 a day and 880nmillion on less than $1 a day.

26 million children are still out of school

10% children suffered from disability

It has world largest population of children with Malnutrition

One third of 2.6 million person infected by HIV and AIDS are women

79 million women are missing due to the patriarchal biases and violence practiced

against them.

243 million women cannot read and write

Disturbing Facts of Displacement and Vulnerable to Trafficking in western Assam:

Over 4,00,000 population became homeless in four districts in western Assam, two districts

under the administrative jurisdiction of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) that is Kokrajhar

and Chirang and two districts of western Assam that is Dhubri and Bongaigaon hit during the

month long violence. Other districts moderately affected are Baksa, Udalguri under BTC and

Barpeta, Nalbari, Rangya of western Assam.

The situation is compounded by unstable democracies, military and separatist conflicts

within and amongst the region, disparity economic growth rates that excluded large sections

of the diverse ethnic population and vulnerable to natural and manmade disasters.

Disturbing Statistic of Children Missing in Assam 2011-2012

Missing Traced Untraced

Male child- 494 283 211

Female Child- 1071 682 389

Total- 1565 965 600

Adult male - 687 356 331

Female Adult-1243 668 571

Total-1930 1024 902

Assam State Fails to Trace 11,000 Missing Children in Assam since 1998-2012

Assam Police does not have any answer to this query regarding the whereabouts of over

11,000 people, who had been missing since 1998 till date. Worse, the men in Khaki have

put their hands down in most of the missing cases reported during the period living the family

members of the victims in the lurch. Of the 17,721 persons who have gone missing since

1998 till date, only about 6,000 could be traced living the police department high and dry with

a success rate of just around 35 percent. What is even more significant is the fact that the

number of missing children during the period is almost identical to that of adults. From the

year 2007 to till 2009 (up to march), While 2,485 Adults were reported missing from

various parts of the State, stood at 1,734. In the current year itself, over 500 hundred

cases of missing (both adults and minor) have been reported till date. The period

between 1999- 2006, however, registered more cases of missing children than that of adults.

“This figure, as it stands now, is expected to rise in more rapidly, if a cohesive road map is

not planned by the State Government in association with the law enforcing agencies of the

other States of the country,” Opined senior Assam Police official while talking to the Assam

Tribune. “Of course there are some hurdles in tracing missing human beings but if the

problem is getting as alarming as this, a definite plan has to be there,” the official stated,

ruling that the State Government has hardly shown any concern to this problem. “A proper

study of the nature of the cases has to be done to chalk out any kind of plan to arrest the

existing trend and that would be possibly only after the police department strikes a healthy

and sustained relationship with its counterparts across the country,” he stated. “Security

agencies, it may be mentioned, have about the years attributed the rising number of missing

cases to the rampant trade of human trafficking and human organs trade though no

deterrent action has been seen to tackle the problem.

Data collection from Police Stations in 27 districts of Assam

Data Collected from 27 districts of Assam, North East, India

Heads 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Missing Male child

297 315 323 254 470 302 341 338 292 709

Missing Girl Child

382 369 349 319 419 386 499 475 488 1416

Missing Total Children

679 684 672 573 889 688 840 813 780 2125

Traced Male child

56 101 99 151 177 28 41 130 155 366

Traced Girl child

60 125 118 129 134 41 67 180 245 830

Total Traced Children

125 226 217 280 311 69 108 310 400 1196

Trafficking in Person, Intervention by NEDAN:

In - 2004: rescued 200 at Kokrajhar railway station, 73 were minor. In 2005: repatriated 6 ethnic women rescued from Mumbai by police In 2006: rescued 66 ethnic women and girls being lured in the pretext of job to Gujurat, 25 were minor In 2006 , 4 girls lured from Assam were rescued from Uttar Pradesh In 2007 August: 3 ethnic women and girls were rescued from being trafficked to Mumbai at Kokrajhar station. In 2007 September: 1 ethnic woman rescued from the trafficker at Bongaigaon railway station who was being taken to Mumbai In 2007 August: 64 ethnic girls were rescued from being trafficked to Gujurat for labour purposes. 13 were minor. In 2008 July: 7 ethnic women were rescued from being trafficked to Delhi

In 2008 August: 6 girls were rescued from being trafficked to Gujurat via Kolkata at Kokrajhar railway station. 3 were minor. In 2008 August: 6 ethnic women rescued from train station being trafficked to Gujurat via Howra, Kolkata In 2008 Sept. 29 lured for labour purposed to Bhutan repatriated to Assam In 2008 Sept. Rescued 2 ethnic girls from Bhutan From 2009 to 2010 December NEDAN has repatriated 42 rescued tribal girls to respective villages. 10 were minor From 2010-2011- January 11 Adibasi girls repatriated from Chennai out of which, 4 were minors From 2011 Feb – 3 tribal girls rescued out of which 1 was Nepalese minor girl having 4 months old child and repatriated to respective home. In 2011 August, 11 adolescents Adibasi boys rescued from Srirampur Railway station and produced to CWC and handed over to respective families back. In Sept. 2011, 2 minor girls rescued by Mumbai police and repatriating to NEDAN for reaching them back to home. In October 2011: 2 girls (one minor) repatriated were repatriated to respective home (one from Sivsagar and one from Gwahati. In Feb. 2012, 5 Adibasi girls from Gramhampur rescued from being lured to Bangalore. In April 2012, 1 minor Nepali girl rescued and repatriated from Gelephu, Bhutan to Kokrajhar. In June 2012, 1 Bihari girl was repatriated from Mumbai to NEDAN From July /12, Repatriating 9 girls from Mumbai rescued by Mumbai police to NEDAN From Sept-Nov/12: 3 girls repatriated from Jalpaiguri . Muslim girls from Joypur, Kokrajhar- 1 girl was minor In January 2013, 1 minor girl from Ghy was rescued in Mumbai and reintegrated to home In March 2013, 2 girls (1 minor) were repatriated by Mumbai police to NEDAN for reintegration to home April 2013, 1 minor from Bongaigaon is in the process of repatriation from Pune. Total – 488 out of which, 134 were minors.

Situation of Child Marriage in Assam:

CHILD MARRIAGE SCENARIO IN 27 DISTRICTS OF ASSAM

Barpeta – 53.6 Kokrajhar -50.6

Dhubri – 48.8 Karbi Anglong- 46.3

Karimganj- 45.3 Dhemaji-44.2

Baksa- 44.1 Nagaon-43.4

Udalguri- 43.1 Lakhimpur- 42.4

Golaghat- 42.3, Hailakandi-40.8

Tinsukia-40.4 Kamrup-39.4

Bongaigaon-37.4 Marigaon-37.3

Sonitpur-37.1 Goalpara-35.9

Dibrugarh 35.2 Darang-34.5

Cachar-34.1 Jorhat-34

Chirang-33.5 Sibsagar-32.4

Kamrup-31.7 Nalbari-31

North Cachar Hills-24.3

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Source: Law Research Institute, Guwahati, Assam

Note: The highlighted districts are identified trafficking Zone of Assam.

Snap Shots of Traffickers Napped by NEDAN and Assam Police:

Rescued Children and Adolescents by NEDAN

For more Information Contact:

Digambar Narzary NEDAN FOUNDATION Ward No 11, Bodofa Nwgwr, Kadamtola P.O. Titaguri, Dist. Kokrajhar Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) Assam-783374 Ph # 91-9435027087 Email:nedan_ne@yahoo.co.in Website: www.nedan.in