By IANS
New Delhi : Andhra Pradesh Police have arrested at least 24 traffickers and rescued 51 women and nine minors from the national capital’s red light area, officials said Tuesday.
Delhi Police crime branch officials who assisted in the rescue said Andhra Pradesh Police conducted raids at five buildings located on G.B. Road late Monday with the help of a city-based voluntary organisation, Stop Trafficking and Oppression of Children and Women (STOP).
“We have arrested 24 human traffickers and rescued 51 women and nine minors – six from Delhi and three from Andhra – after raiding the premises on the G.B. Road,” Assistant Commissioner of Police (Andhra Police) Sumiti told IANS.
“We had registered a case in July last year in Andhra and the place was raided after we got some secret information. All women belong to Andhra’s Kadapa, Anantapur and Chittoor districts,” she added.
Sumiti said all the accused and victims would be produced before a city magistrate here.
“We will request the court to send all accused on transition remand and allow us to take victims to Andhra for immediate trial and rehabilitation. We are not taking the six minors who hail from Delhi. They will be handed over to the local police here,” she said.
According to UN estimates, approximately 150,000 people are trafficked within south Asia annually, children and young women being lured from their homes with promises of a good job, marriage or stardom in the entertainment industry.
In India, 20,000-25,000 women and children are brought illegally from Bangladesh annually, while 5,000-15,000 are trafficked from Nepal for prostitution and slavery.
Human trafficking is a booming illegal international trade with traffickers making an estimated $32 billion annually at the expense of millions of victims.