Dibrugarh: Namsai Police have rescued 19 children from different parts of Arunachal Pradesh and arrested three people for their alleged involvement in facilitating child trafficking, officials said.
The arrested persons have been identified as Gumnya Kochung, Marte Ete and Neha Gerory.
According to police, the children were rescued from Mechuka, Aalo, Pasighat, Naharlagun, Itanagar and Longding.
Following a complaint filed by the Namsai Child Welfare Committee (CWC), police registered a case at Namsai police station on August 17.
During the investigation, police found that monetary transactions ranging from around Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 per child had allegedly taken place in some cases.
“We have rescued 19 children from different places across Arunachal Pradesh. Three persons have been arrested in connection with child trafficking. We are investigating the case,” Namsai Superintendent of Police Sangey Thinley said.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted under the supervision of SP Sangey Thinley to investigate the case.
Some of the rescued children were reportedly made to work as domestic helpers or in hotels.
A leader of the Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association (ATTSA) said vulnerable sections of society are often targeted by child traffickers, with several of the rescued children reportedly originating from tea garden areas of Assam.
“Most of the time, they are taken to Arunachal Pradesh for domestic work,” the leader said.
According to police, the ages of several rescued children have added to the seriousness of the case. Most of the children are reportedly below eight years of age, while some were unable to provide basic information about their families, including the names of their parents, during initial interactions.
An activist working in child rescue and rehabilitation said the alleged network appeared to exploit the demand for workers in hotels, restaurants and households.
“There is a shortage of manpower in Arunachal Pradesh, and they need people to work in hotels, restaurants and as domestic helpers. The middlemen work at the behest of the wider human trafficking network. They are well connected and know where there is demand. They target economically vulnerable families and take away their children for work in different parts of Arunachal Pradesh,” the activist said.
The activist further alleged that in several cases, missing complaints were filed after children were taken away, but they did not return home.
Police have not disclosed further details of the ongoing investigation.