NCRB data on trafficking tip of iceberg: NCW chief

Our Correspondent

Srinagar, April 27

Rekha Sharma, chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW), on Thursday said human trafficking had increased by 15.56% in J&K last year as compared to the 2021-22 financial year according to the data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). “This is just the tip of the iceberg because the data does not give the true picture,” Sharma said ahead of an anti-human trafficking workshop, organised by the NCW, Social Welfare Department and the Jammu & Kashmir Police, here.

Sharma said the purpose of the workshop in Kashmir was to make people aware of the human trafficking menace. “The main problem is lack of awareness. This is our first-of-its-kind programme in J&K where all the forces — state commissions and NGOs — are together to make people aware, especially the students, that nobody is out of reach of this problem,” the NCW chief said.

Asked when the women’s commission in J&K would be restored, she said the Centre was planning something along those lines.

Later during the seminar, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha stressed upon the law enforcement agencies to analyse three important aspects — origin, transit and destination — and prepare a priority action plan to strike at the root of human trafficking networks.

Sinha said that vulnerable groups such as children, women, labourers and displaced persons should be identified and sufficiently protected.

“Law enforcement agencies, civil society groups, youth and every section of the society must unite to raise awareness of this issue, safeguard people from exploitation, effectively combat this violent crime and dismantle the criminal network,” he added.

The Lieutenant Governor asked the anti-human trafficking cells to forge partnerships with youth clubs and civil society groups. He said the government had adopted the policy of zero tolerance for crime against women and committed to punish the criminal networks or individuals behind such crimes.

(With PTI inputs)

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