Question : Child Trafficking

(a) whether the Government is aware that child trafficking has increased alarmingly with the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown in the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the number of child trafficking cases registered during each of the last three years and the current year;

(c) whether the Crime Records Bureau has ever come out with the statistics of child trafficking;

(d) if so, the details thereof during the said period, State-wise;

(e) the details and the names of the States to which the children rescued from child trafficking belonged, State-wise;

(f) the details of assistance and special schemes being provided by the Government for rehabilitation of such children; and

(g) the steps taken by the Government to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and the details of stringent action, if any, in practice against the convicted persons of child trafficking?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
(SHRI AJAY KUMAR MISHRA)
(a) to (e): The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles crime statistics reported to it by the States and Union Territories (UTs) and publishes
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the same in its annual publication ‘Crime in India’. The latest published report is of the year 2020. State/UT-wise details of cases in which children (below 18 years) were trafficked, number of children trafficked and number of child victims rescued under human trafficking during 2018 to 2020 are given in Annexure I, II and III respectively.
(f) For prevention of trafficking, rescue, rehabilitation, re-integration and repatriation of victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, the Ministry of Women and Child Development is implementing the “Ujjawala” Scheme. Under the Scheme, Protective and Rehabilitative homes have been established in the country. The victims of human trafficking are also provided vocational training in these Homes.
(g) ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State-List subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. The responsibility to maintain law and order as well as investigation and prosecution of crimes, including the crime of human trafficking vests with respective State Governments who are competent to deal with such offences under extant provisions of law. However, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has been supplementing the efforts of State Governments by undertaking various initiatives and measures. In 2020, MHA provided financial assistance of about Rs 100 crores to all States and Union Territories (UTs) for strengthening the existing Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) and setting up new AHTUs, covering all districts of States and UTs.
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MHA provides financial assistance to States and UTs for holding ‘Judicial Colloquiums’ and ‘State level conferences’ on periodic basis for sensitizing judicial and police officials and to make available to them updated information on latest provisions of law relating to trafficking. MHA has also been issuing advisories and guidelines on preventing and combating the crime of human trafficking. These advisories are available on MHA’s website at: https://www.mha.gov.in/Division_of_MHA/Women_Safety_Division/anti-trafficking-cell. The National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 was amended in 2019 to authorise the National Investigation Agency to investigate cases of human trafficking under Sections 370 and 370A of Indian Penal Code. For addressing transnational issues of human trafficking, bilateral Memorandums of Understanding have been signed with Bangladesh, UAE, Cambodia and Myanmar; and multilateral instruments on human trafficking have also been signed by India.
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