‘Many guises to human trafficking that could go unreported’

3 districts in Nagaland register 16 cases in 5 years, nil from 8

Morung Express News  
Dimapur | March 15

Nagaland has on record a total of 16 human trafficking cases registered during the past 5 years. The 16 cases were registered in three districts - Dimapur (6), Wokha (8) and Phek (1) - while the remaining 8 districts recorded nil cases related to human trafficking during the same period.

The figure would appear relatively low but Nagaland IGP (Range) Sonia Singh felt that it could be an instance of cases going unreported than low incidence. 

Singh was speaking as a resource person at a state level conference on human trafficking organized for state police personnel by the Nagaland Police under the aegis of the Women Safety Division, Ministry of Home Affairs on March 14. 

Rosanna Lyngdoh, Director of Impulse NGO Network, Shillong and Y. Longkumer, Principal District & Session Judge, Dimapur were the other resource persons at the seminar held at the Rhodendron Hall, NAPTC, Chumoukedima.

“I have a hunch cases are being under reported,” Singh held, adding that human trafficking can occur under various guises. 

She referenced the practice of keeping minors as domestic help, which by law could be construed as human trafficking, the intention of the keepers notwithstanding. 

Stating that the general perception towards human trafficking needs change, she said, “We have to understand in which garb it is happening.” 

It also demands a detailed understanding of the Acts and sections relating to human trafficking by the police, while optimizing the district-wise Anti Human Trafficking Units of the Nagaland Police. While stating that the police are trained to maintain order and investigate, she said that a “victim-centric, proactive approach” in coordination with other stakeholders (NGOs) would only reinforce the battle against human trafficking. 

She said that a little bit of empathy and compassion would do a world of good making the victim feel comfortable and look up to the police as saviours. 

The police cannot afford to be complacent and stop once a victim has been rescued, she said, while adding that the job demands tenacity and the spirit to go into the root.  

“Once we file the chargesheet, we feel our work is done but it is not so,” she said. 

Principal District & Session Judge, Longkumer highlighted the legal statutes pertaining to curbing human trafficking, the legal amenities required and the essence of being sensitized. She said that while the courts overall have insisted on a justice system that is victim-friendly, she lamented that there is hardly any infrastructure in Nagaland to attain it. 

Stating that there are no “model courts” and “model police stations” specifically designed for women and children falling victim to trafficking, she said that the NGOs and the government could coordinate to make it happen. “Courts have been accused of being sympathetic to the accused than victims. In most cases, the accused happen to be influential or have links to influential people,” she said of the challenges faced by the justice system. 

Director of Impulse NGO Network, Lyngdoh drew attention to the works of the organization and its working standard. According to her, a majority of the cases in the north-east received by Impulse Case Info Centre (ICIC) pertains to prostitution and forced labour. ICIC is an online data collection portal especially designed for tracking and detailing human trafficking cases. 

While the region is considered vulnerable for a number of factors that include proximity to porous international borders, armed and ethnic conflict and “unsafe migration,” the first human trafficking case in the region was reported in 1998. 

She said that it cannot be ignored and cautioned that the perpetrators could turn out to be the most unexpected. On the extent of human trafficking in Nagaland, she said that the ICIC has not received much data or complaint from the state in this regard.