Helpdesk at Central to check trafficking

Indian railway stations often turn into transit points for human traffickers to lure women and children away from home, forcing them into sex trafficking, domestic or bonded labour. Since 2017, Child line, Chennai has rescued 847 children in Chennai Central and 422 in Egmore railway station. 

Speaking to DT Next, SP Railways Annie Vijaya said, “Railway stations witness movement from all walks of life, including children of all ages. We are in the process of finalising the team which will be stationed at the helpdesk. The team will include GRP personnel, Railway Protection Force (RPF) members and other railways officials in addition to social workers. We will enlist the help of NGOs to identify vulnerable people in the stations.” 

She also added that there is a need for meetings on sensitisation of officers. To that effect, 82 GRP inspectors and sub-inspectors from the state participated in a training session conducted in the city by International Justice Mission (IJM) and Childline Foundation on the issue of human trafficking and the role that they could play in fighting it. C Sylendra Babu, ADGP, Railways, pointed out that the GRP will take every effort to protect people, especially women and children, who are highly vulnerable to this crime. 

“In the last four years, 1,628 workers were rescued from bonded labour. The victims mostly were trafficked using trains from Odisha, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. It is essential to monitor these junctions,” Devasitham, Associate Director, Strategic Development, IJM said.