Chandigarh, May 10
The Punjab government is set to pass legislation to arm the police with more powers to check human trafficking.
This will include strict financial penalties and a variable punishment for travel agents who defraud people on the promise of sending them aboard through various means. Variable punishment means the bigger the fraud or cheating committed by the agent, the longer the prison term and heavier the fine.
The government is ready with the draft of the Punjab prevention of human trafficking act. The home and justice department has already whetted the draft that will be sent for ratification to the cabinet before it is tabled in the Vidhan Sabha. The government can choose to even
bring in an ordinance in this regard. Once it is passed, travel agents providing consultancy or guidance to the following categories will be covered: people approaching the agents for permanent emigration, for obtaining higher education, for working in a foreign country on a work permit, contractual, professional and business assignment, for a pleasure trip as a tourist, for medical treatment, for cultural/musical shows, religious preachers and for participating in sports tournaments. Giving advertisements for travel to foreign countries or the holding of seminars to promote emigration will also be covered as activity of travel agents. A fund will be constituted by the state government to be called the Punjab state human trafficking victim relief fund. Any amount received from the confiscation of the illegally acquired property of travel agents will go to this fund. All agents will have to be registered and he / she will be issued a licence without which the government will not allow any agent to function. The licence can be cancelled if the agent indulges in or abets, directly or indirectly, any act prejudicial to the interests of India or contrary to government policy. An agent will have to provide a bank guarantee or pledge immovable assets worth Rs 10 lakh. The police will be empowered to carry out searches, seizures and arrests.
Any executive magistrate or a gazetted officer of the police or any other department of the state government will have the right to search premises where it is suspected that the agent could have hidden some documents pertaining to the case. To prevent any harassment of agents, the search can be carried out only during the day.
Any property acquired from money accruing from this business is liable for confiscation. Where the value of illegally acquired property or the cheated amount is up to Rs 5 lakh, the agent will be liable for rigorous imprisonment for two years or a fine which may extend to Rs 50,000. In case an agent cheats a person of Rs 10 lakh, the prison term will extend up to five years along with a fine of Rs 1 lakh. Similarly, if the agent cheats a person of an amount up to Rs 50 lakh, the prison term can be up to seven years and a fine of Rs 2 lakh. If the cheating involves a sum in excess of Rs 50 lakh, the prison term can extend up to 10 years and a fine of Rs 5 lakh.
If a travel agent holds back the passport of a person without any justification, he will face a prison term extending up to three years and a fine extending up to Rs 50,000.
