By IANS,
New Delhi : Strengthening its machinery to tackle human trafficking, the union home ministry has decided to establish about 330 more anti-human trafficking (AHT) units across the country that would train around 10,000 police personnel in three years on rescue and rehabilitation of victims, among other things.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a national workshop to curb human trafficking, Praveen Kumari Singh, director state re-organisations, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), said: “The ministry has proposed to establish about 330 more AHT units across the country in three years. The units will be established in each police district to impart training to over ten thousand police officials.”
The units will be established by the home ministry under ‘Comprehensive Scheme for Coordinating the National and International Response to Human Trafficking’.
Singh said the ministry has allotted Rs.8.72 crore for the scheme to create district-wise units across the country. About 119 AHT units are functional.
“Each AHT unit will get about Rs.9 lakh to operate in a district. As of now we have about 110 units which was opened last year in each police districts,” Singh said.
Ranjana Kumari, director, Centre for Social Research (CSR), said: “The AHT programme lacks full enforcement in states and districts of the country. About 1.25 million, mostly women and children, are trafficked in our country.”
She added that the police have limited knowledge about human trafficking and officers need practical training as they treat victims as culprits.
To sensitize the police personnel involved in combating the organized crime of human trafficking, the home ministry in partnership with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Centre for Social Research (CSR) and Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D), organised a three-day national workshop to curb human trafficking.
The workshop will train 35 nodal officers from various part of the country on post-rescue care, rehabilitation of victims, laws related to sex trafficking, labour trafficking and vulnerabilities relating to human trafficking.