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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE STATE/UT NODAL OFFICERS FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING HELD BY

JOINT SECRETARY (CS) ON 07.03.2013

The 14th meeting of State Nodal Officers on Trafficking in Human Beings was held under the Chairpersonship

of Shri S. Suresh Kumar, JS(CS), MHA on 7th March, 2013 to review progress in the implementation of the

Comprehensive Scheme on strengthening the law enforcement response to trafficking through the following measures:-

1. Establishing Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) sanctioned by MHA,2. Training of Trainers (TOT) Workshops,3. Enrollment in IGNOU Course on Anti Human Trafficking,4. Discussion on proposed amendment in ITPA, 1956

And to review other measures taken by States/ UT Administrations for effective prevention, protection and prosecution in

the crime of Human Trafficking. A list of participants is at Annexure I.

2. Director (SR) welcomed all the participants. She urged the participants to apprise themselves of such initiativesand to work in a coordinated manner. She also asked them to provide their opinion about repatriation procedures for

Bangladesh as a bilateral mechanism was under consideration. She mentioned that greater co-ordination was needed

between nodal officers and border police on repatriation. Some of the participants also shared their thoughts on the

difficulties involved in implementing the AHTU scheme. Lack of manpower was cited as the biggest challenge. Therepresentative from Odisha pointed out that many Acts get passed in a year and the same person often becomes nodal

officer for several issues. The representative from Delhi observed that police stations are working with 50% strength. The

issue of inadequate representation of women in the police force was also discussed.

3. She also mentioned about the effective partnership which developed between MHA and UNODC under whichthe AHTU model was developed. She expressed her appreciation for the resource material that was compiled during this

partnership and urged the participants to download it from the UNODC website. She further observed that having

ratified the UN optional protocol on trafficking in persons, India was committed as a country to implement its provisions

Discussing the IGNOU certificate course on human trafficking launched in 2010, she encouraged the nodal officers to get

more of their staff working on the ground to get enrolled and sensitized. She also highlighted the need for inter-state co-ordination, citing the close co-ordination between Assam and Haryana in recent cases as a good example.

4. Joint Secretary (CS) while welcoming all the participants emphasized the need for a comprehensive response to

human trafficking. He observed that the majority of women/girls in prostitution are not there voluntarily. They are

deceived or coerced and finding no escape succumb to it, and more so as they cannot return to their families. He stated

that a strong stance was needed to prevent the perverse trend of children entering prostitution. He said trafficking is no

just about carrying out raids. Larger issues were at stake. There are rackets operating across districts, states and countries

but the response at the best remains episodic. He noted the difficulty in coordinating the law enforcement response acros

different areas and pointed out that traffickers are able to subvert the existing systems of Government because they are

better coordinated than the law enforcement agencies. He called for a thorough discussion on gaps in state responses tothe issue and what needs to be done. He discussed the connection between missing children and trafficking, noting tha

a fair proportion of missing children are victims of trafficking.

5. REVIEW OF AGENDA POINTS

JS(CS) reviewed the performance of the State Governments/UTs as regards establishment of AHTUs for the year 2010-

2011 & 2011-12. The State-wise review is as under:

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Name of the State/UT Status of

AHTUs

established in

2010-11

Status of AHTUs

established in

2011-12

Request

for more

AHTUs

Detail of

expenditure

during 2010-11

with utilization

certificate

Detail of expenditure

during 2011-12 with

utilization certificate

ANDHRA PRADESH Five

established

Nil Seven UC received Under process

ARUNANCHAL

PRADESH

Three

established

---- -- UC received --

ASSAM Five

established

Five established Seven Rs. 32,08,620

utilized

UC received

BIHAR Seven

established

Seven established Five UC received Under process

CHHATTISGARH Four established Four established Two UC received for

Rs. 29,49,667

UC received for Rs

25,17,167

GUJRAT Five

established

Five established Seven UC received Under process

HIMANCHAL

PRADESH

Two

established

Two established Two UC received Under process

JAMMU & KASHMIR Fourestablished

Threeestablished

Three UC received Under process

JHARKHAND Four

established

Four established -- UC received Under process

KARNATAKA Five

established

Four established One UC received Under process

KERALA Three

established

-- -- UC received UC received

MADHYA PRADESH Eight

established

Eight established -- UC received Under process

MAHARASHTRA Six established Six established Six UC received State Home Dept

has requested to givepermission for

utilization of the

funds

ODISHA Six established Six established Six UC received UC received

PUNJAB Eight

established

Nil Four UC received Under process

RAJASTHAN Six established Six established Ten UC received UC received

TAMIL NADU Six established Six established Six UC received UC will be sen

shortly

UTTARAKHAND Two

established

Two established Two UC received UC has been sent to

PM DivisionUTTAR PRADESH Twelve

established

Twelve

established

Eleven UC received UC has been sent to

PM Division

WEST BENGAL Five

established

Four established Four -- --

DELHI One established -- Nil -- --

CHANDIGARH One established Nil Nil Nil

PUDUCHERRY One AHTU &

Police Station

Lt Governors

approval

-- No separate fund

for the use of

No separate fund for

the use of AHTU is

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notified obtained AHTU is allotted

to the UT of

Puducherry

allotted to the UT of

Puducherry

DAMAN & DIU One -- -- Nil AHTU has been se

up through the UTs

own budget

DADAR NAGAR

HAVELI

One -- -- Nil

A & N ISLANDS Nil One established One Nil AHTU has been se

up through the UTs

own budgetGRAND TOTAL 111 85 84

JS(CS) reviewed the performance of the State Governments/UTs as regards Training of Trainers (ToTs) Workshop. The

State-wise review is as under:

Name of the State/UT No. of State

level TOTs

conducted

during 2010,

2011 & 2012

(Total)

No. of District

level TOTs

conducted during

2010, 2011 & 2012

(Total)

Participation in Regional

level ToTs workshops for

Prosecutors

Status of State

District level ToTs

workshops for

Prosecutors

ANDHRA PRADESH Sixty eight Not mentioned Yes Proposal is under

process

ARUNANCHAL

PRADESH

-- -- -- --

ASSAM Four Fourteen Under process Under process

BIHAR Two Thirty 8 prosecutor have

attended

To be conducted

CHHATTISGARH One Four 8 Assistant District

Prosecutors

Nil

GUJRAT One Forty five Nil Nil

HIMANCHAL

PRADESH

Two Thirteen 8 prosecutor have

attended

Nil

JAMMU & KASHMIR Four One 7 prosecutor participated Nil

JHARKHAND One Ten 42 prosecutors Nil

KARNATAKA -- Three -- --

KERALA Two Two 98 participant 95 participant

MADHYA PRADESH Twelve Ninety nine 7 prosecutor Nil

MAHARASHTRA Nine Fifteen 18 participant Scheduled for 5-7th

March

ODISHA Two Nil 5 participant Nil ( No money)

PUNJAB Seven Seven Information not provided Information no

provided

RAJASTHAN Two Fifteen 8 participant Yet to be held

TAMIL NADU One Sixteen 4 prosecutor To be conducted

UTTARAKHAND One Nil 4 prosecutor To be conducted

UTTAR PRADESH One Thirty five 5 prosecutor Nil

WEST BENGAL Three Nil -- --

DELHI Two Eight 1 participant Nil

CHANDIGARH One Nil Nil Nil

PUDUCHERRY One Two 2 participant Nil

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DAMAN & DIU -- -- -- --

DADAR NAGAR

HAVELI

Two Two 1 APP Not conducted

A & N ISLANDS Nil Nil NA To be conducted

GRAND TOTAL 129 321 226 95

JS(CS) reviewed the performance of the State Governments/UTs as regards enrollment in IGNOU Course on Ant

Human Trafficking. The State-wise review is as under:

Name of the State/UT No. of persons

enrolled so far

with details

No. of persons

who have

completed the

course with detail

No. of persons who have

been nominated

Whether nodal officer

(previous and present

has been enrolled

ANDHRA PRADESH 6 Nil Nil NA

ARUNANCHAL

PRADESH

-- -- -- --

ASSAM 30 Nil Nil Yes

BIHAR 47 1 -- Nil

CHHATTISGARH 36 Nil -- No

GUJRAT 54 Nil Nil YesHIMANCHAL

PRADESH

19 Nil 11 Yes

JAMMU & KASHMIR Nil Nil Nil No

JHARKHAND 5 Nil 5 Yes

KARNATAKA -- -- -- --

KERALA 47 Nil Nil Yes

MADHYA PRADESH 08 Nil 03 Yes

MAHARASHTRA 35 Nil All unit commanders are

requested to nominate

more

Yes (previous)

ODISHA 1 Nil 20 Yes (previous), presenhas applied for

PUNJAB NA NA NA NA

RAJASTHAN 2 Nil Nil Yes

TAMIL NADU 36 36 -- Previous was enrolled

and present will be in

May, 2013

UTTARAKHAND 27 No Nil Yes (previous)

UTTAR PRADESH 19 No 100 Yes (present)

WEST BENGAL -- -- -- --

DELHI -- -- -- --

CHANDIGARH 31 -- -- YesPUDUCHERRY 40 Nil -- To be enrolled

DAMAN & DIU -- -- -- --

DADAR NAGAR

HAVELI

2 Nil All the members of the

AHTUs are directed to

enroll

Yes (both)

A & N ISLANDS 10 1 NA Yes (previous)

GRAND TOTAL 455 38 139 15

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JS(CS) expressed concern that the status of opening AHTUs and enrollment for the IGNOU course was not so good as i

has been expected . JS(CS) also suggested the following points for discussion:

a) Manpower- The shortage of manpower was raised by several participants as a major problem. The nodal officerfrom U.P. noted that the lack of dedicated personnel in AHTUs was the biggest limitation. Some stated that for

massive rescues, one inspector and two sub-inspectors were also not sufficient. The representative from Uttar

Pradesh, Gujarat and Odisha strongly pointed out that redistribution of manpower was not possible. The

drawback with the existing arrangement was that when the same personnel are required to attend to other workalong with AHTUs, it is hard to focus on AHTU work. Presently manpower in AHTUs was part time based as

adequate work was not available with them. Hence, exclusive detailment of scarce senior manpower for Ant

Trafficking was not feasible.

b) Notification of AHTUs as Police Stations (P.S.) The notification of AHTUs as police stations by the HomeDepartment was necessary otherwise they could not register a crime and manpower could not be assigned. In

such cases, crime has to be registered through local police stations (as per the CrPC). The representatives of Tami

Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Puducherry responded that the AHTUs in their states have been notified as police

stations. It was also suggested by some states that a to set up a special P.S. can be set up in one district for this

issue.Some of the representatives said that the AHTU had been made a part of the Women and Child P.S. JS(CS

asked the participants to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of notifying AHTUs as police stations. The

nodal officer from Andhra Pradesh pointed out that with a strength of 20-25, the notification of an AHTU as a P.S

might be difficult. She further stated that if only AHTUs register cases, the sense of responsibility among other

police stations might reduce for trafficking cases. They might wash their hands off such cases and send them only

to the AHTU. The nodal officer from various States stated that the AHTUs in their state are based in police

stations. Special police officers prescribed under the ITPA have been notified, and an advisory board also

prescribed by the Act has been set up.

c) Link between AHTUs and NGOs JS(CS) expressed concern that strong links with NGOs were not being builtto the desirable extent, and the interaction between AHTUs and NGOs was not satisfactory. The representatives

from Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Assam, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh, M.P., Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan

said they have good co-ordination with NGOs. Other states which indicated a good working relationship between

AHTUs and NGOs included Punjab, U.P., Puducherry and Tamil Nadu. The Karnataka representative mentioned

active co-ordination between AHTUs and the SCPCR (State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights) in tha

state. In Rajasthan, the nodal officer also mentioned that prostitution among the Bedia community was a major

issue, but no NGOs were dealing with this aspect there. He stated that AHTUs are registering and investigating

cases and sending the victims to Nari Niketans. In Himachal Pradesh, the representative explained that there were

not many NGOs, and in Dadra and Nagar Haveli it was noted that there were no NGOs. Representative of States

have given name of some NGOs who are working in their state very actively:

ANDHRA PRADESH Prajwala ODISHA Child Line, BBSR

ARUNANCHAL

PRADESH

--- PUNJAB ---

ASSAM Gold RAJASTHAN Mahila Samakhya, Vishakha

BIHAR Apne Aap TAMIL NADU

CHHATTISGARH Child Helpline, Nari

Sewa Sansthan

UTTARAKHAND India

GUJRAT --- UTTAR PRADESH Shaktivahini, Child Line

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HIMANCHAL

PRADESH

--- WEST BENGAL Maitri Nepal, Jabala, IJM

JAMMU & KASHMIR --- DELHI STOP, BBA, Shaktivahini

JHARKHAND --- CHANDIGARH Madhupreet Sansthan

KARNATAKA --- PUDUCHERRY Just

KERALA Child Line DAMAN & DIU ---

MADHYA PRADESH --- DADAR N. HAVELI ---

MAHARASHTRA --- A & N ISLANDS ---

6. Sources of traffickingJS(CS) informed the participants that the Parliamentary Standing Committee had asked the MHA to identify the

potential source areas for trafficking. He requested the nodal officers to identify which police stations especially need

to be sensitized to this problem. The MHA would like to compile a list in this regard, for which he sought the active

co-operation of the nodal officers.

7. CROSS-BORDER ISSUESa) JS (CS) called for a discussion on cross-border trafficking especially by representatives of states who share borde

with neighbouring countries such as Pakistan (Rajasthan, Punjab) and Bangladesh (West Bengal, Assam

Meghalaya, Manipur and Mizoram).

b) The DIG (BSF) looking after trafficking issues spoke about cross-border trafficking. He said the main issue wasthe Bangladesh border stretching over 4000 km, of which 111 km were still unfenced. Understanding cross-border

trafficking was complicated by the issue of illegal migration. He stated that 32 vulnerable patches had been

identified. He provided details of the internal sensitization of the BSF by TOTs and also mentioned that the BSF is

working with the local police in this regard. He said the BSF gives the MHA information on touts at the border,

about whom the MHA would inform the nodal officers.

c) In relation to cross-border trafficking, JS(CS) told the participants that women and children, if victims, should nobe prosecuted under the Foreigners Act or Passport Act. He mentioned the MHA advisory issued in this regard

and requested that it be forwarded to all the Police Stations in the State/UT.

8. TRAFFICKING AS AN ORGANIZED CRIMEJS(CS) drew attention to the fact that a good case prosecuting perpetrators of an organized crime was yet to be

done anywhere in the country. He noted that the Parliamentary Standing Committee had also asked the MHA

about any notable case of organized crime which had been cracked. He pointed out that the MHA has issued adetailed advisory on human trafficking as an organized crime and emphasized the need to break the financial

backbone of the operators. JS(CS) cited some of the legislative provisions that could be invoked to establish

trafficking-related crimes as part of an organized nexus or racket. The nodal officers raise the issue of girls from

brothels, and in building cases which led to rescue and convictions by applying IPC sections. The role o

placement agencies bringing persons from Chhatisgarh and Jharkhand to Delhi and other metros to work in the

domestic sector was discussed.

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9. MISSING CHILDRENThe manner of registering cases of missing children and lodging FIRs as per directions of High Court was

discussed. A copy of FIR was circulated among the Nodal office for their views and comments. The

representatives of the state informed the manner as under

ANDHRA PRADESH, BIHAR, TAMIL

NADU,KARNATAKA, MADHYA PRADESH

As missing

persons

UTTARAKHAND, WEST

BENGAL

Wait for 15 days then

lodge FIR

ARUNANCHAL PRADESH, DELHI ,

PUNJAB,

JAMMU & KASHMIR, PUDUCHERRY

GUJRAT RAJASTHAN, DADAR N.

HAVELI, DAMAN & DIU, A & N

ISLANDS, CHANDIGARH

Under Section

363

ASSAM, JHARKHAND,

ODISHA,

MAHARASHTRA,

HIMANCHAL

PRADESH

No FIR

KERALA Under Section

57 of Kerala

Police

UTTAR PRADESH No case registered

CHHATTISGARH ---

JS(CS) asked for the participants views on the pros and cons of registering missing cases. The pros includedbetter monitoring and satisfaction of the family that a FIR was lodged. Among the cons discussed were a spike in

the crime graph and the legal barrier u/s 154 Cr. PC. One of the participants responded that it was difficult to

register a case of a missing child if no offense was made out. Sometime it is observed that the missing child

himself come back after a few days. JS(CS) cited the Delhi High Court order on registering cases of missing

children as FIRs and noted that in the BBA case is currently before the Supreme Court. He mentioned that the

order had been issued by the Honble Court directing lodging FIRs in the case of missing children. If so, it would

be applicable across the country as per Article 141 of the Constitution of India. JS(CS) also emphasized the need to

verify if children are coming back or not. He stated that Delhi, for instance, is doing this.

10. Discussion on proposed amendment in ITPA, 1956JS(CS) has discussed with Nodal Officer from the States on this issue and it is stated that a copy of the act will

be circulated to the all states for their comments.

11. The meeting ended with vote of thanks to the Chair and a copy of Sanction for assistance to police for rescueof victims of Human Trafficking.

12. BPR&D on Training of Trainers (TOTs)a) All Nodal officer from States has requested to Smt. Nirmal Kaur, IG from the BP R&D for providing more

funds for the training programme organized in the State. As regards District-level trainings it was observed tha

this needed more emphasis and initiative. Thana-level stakeholders need to be trained and sensitized. Director

(SR) suggested that perhaps 3-4 geographically contiguous districts could be clubbed together for the purpose of

training. JS(CS) also asked whether all states/UTs had done trainings at the level of IOs or Investigating Officers

He emphasized the importance of IOs being familiar with the concerned laws and procedures. JS(CS) requested

all the participants to provide a page-long set of discussion points on training sessions, with details on

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participants and resource persons. In the case of larger programmes at the state level, he requested al

participants to provide photographs, powerpoints and so on.

b) With regard to conducting judicial colloquia, JS(CS) suggested that it be done in terms of the severity of theproblem, i.e. states such as Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal

Maharashtra and Assam needed it more urgently.

13. Annual Action PlanA format for the preparation of Annual Action Plan for anti human trafficking activities in the state is attached

and all the nodal officers are requested to prepare the AAPs and submit them by the 1 stMay, 2013.