Since August 2026, police in Arunachal Pradesh’s Namsai district have been investigating what they describe as an organised child trafficking network that took children from poor families and placed them with other people, often far from home.
In a press release issued on November 6, Namsai District Police said they have traced or recovered 70 people, all allegedly connected to the trafficking activities of five arrested alleged brokers and facilitators.
Police say the victims were allegedly trafficked or placed while they were minors, though some have since become adults.
The case was registered on 17 August after a complaint from the Namsai Child Welfare Committee. By August 25, police had rescued 19 children, most of them under eight, and arrested three alleged facilitators.
By September 6, the count was 38 people, with four arrests. By September 27, it was 51 people, including 47 children, with five arrests. The November 6 release raised the figure to 70, with the number of arrests unchanged.
Police say families were told their children would get better education, care and upbringing. Some children were then allegedly put to work as domestic helpers or in hotels, and police found suspected payments of Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 per child in some cases.
The case is still under investigation. No one has been convicted, and no charge sheet has been reported.
The allegations come from police statements, and the roles of the accused, and of parents and others, are still being examined. This explainer sets out how the case unfolded, what police say happened and which questions remain open.
How the case began
The case is registered as Namsai Police Station Case No. 54/2026. It was filed on 17 August, after the Namsai Child Welfare Committee complained of illegal procurement and placement of children from economically vulnerable families.
Because of its seriousness and inter-district nature, a special investigation team was formed under Namsai Superintendent of Police Sangey Thinley, with Deputy SP Kengo Dirchi as investigating officer.
The 6 November release confirms that Thinley supervises the investigation, that Dirchi is the investigating officer, and that the special investigation team assists him.
What police allege
Police say the pattern began with promises made to poor families. Families were approached with assurances of better education, care and upbringing, and the children were then allegedly procured, transported and placed with different people at distant locations.
Money allegedly changed hands along the way. Investigators found suspected payments of Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 per child in some cases, and said some parents or guardians may have received money for handing over their children.
Police stressed that every person’s role is being examined independently. The reports reviewed do not say that any parent has been charged.
Many children allegedly ended up as workers. Some were engaged as domestic helpers and in hotel-related work. One activist working in child rescue said the network appeared to exploit demand for workers in hotels, restaurants and households.
The investigating officer called the children’s ages one of the most disturbing parts of the case: most of the first 19 were under eight, the youngest was about three when allegedly procured or placed, and some could not recall their parents’ names or basic details about their families.
How the case grew
August 17: The case was registered following the Child Welfare Committee’s complaint.
August 24-25. Police rescued 19 children from Mechukha, Aalo, Pasighat, Naharlagun, Itanagar and Longding, and arrested three alleged facilitators: Gumnya Kochung, Marta Ete and Neha Gerory.
September 5. Police said 38 people, including 34 children, had been traced in Arunachal and Assam. A fourth arrest followed: Rupali Padung, whose alleged role was transporting and illegally placing the victims. The superintendent said the operation was not confined to any particular district and was assuming a statewide dimension as fresh leads emerged.
September 27. Police said 51 people, including 47 children and four adults, had been traced or rescued. A fifth alleged facilitator, Ema Loyi of Kaba village in Namsai, was arrested.
November 6. Police said 70 people had been traced or recovered through operations across different districts and states. Because the five arrests have not changed since late September, the increase came from tracing more victims, not from new arrests.
Where the investigation stands
According to the November 6 release, the investigation continues in order to establish the complete trafficking network and identify other people involved. Earlier statements describe how police are going about it.
They are examining financial transactions to fix individual responsibility, and are mapping the network from parents and guardians through intermediaries to the eventual recipients of the children. The special investigation team is also reviewing call records, digital evidence and the children’s movements.
The children’s accounts are being formally recorded. Their statements have been taken before a magistrate under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Police say parents, guardians and the people with whom children were placed are being examined, with legal action to follow based on evidence.
Care and protection of the children
Police say the tracing and recovery operations were carried out in close coordination with District Child Protection Officer Priya Pomoung, the Child Welfare Committee, Child Helpline and other agencies.
The Child Welfare Committee and the District Child Protection Unit are providing care, protection, counselling and rehabilitation support, and police are protecting the minors’ identities.
After rescue, the children had medical examinations and were produced before the committee, and their statements are being recorded through a child-friendly process.
Reaction from child rights bodies
The Arunachal Pradesh State Commission for Protection of Child Rights urged police to go beyond rescue. Its chairperson, Ratan Anya, said the entire network behind the trafficking must be identified and every link investigated, and that parents’ and guardians’ roles should be examined wherever evidence shows a child was knowingly handed over.
She also asked police to check whether any child suffered other abuse, including sexual exploitation, and said trafficking cannot be treated as only a law-and-order issue and needs a coordinated response from police, welfare committees, and labour and education departments.
Where the children came from
Police have described the children as coming from economically vulnerable families and have traced them to locations in Arunachal and Assam. Their origins are not settled in the public record. A leader of the Assam Tea Tribes Students’ Association said several of the rescued children reportedly came from Assam’s tea garden areas.
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