NHRC Urges Every State to Appoint Anti-Human Trafficking Nodal Officer for Combatting Menace

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has urged all states to appoint an "anti-human trafficking nodal officer" to spearhead efforts in combatting this issue. The NHRC said that this designated officer should hold a position no lower than that of a state government secretary or an inspector general of police.

The Commission's recommendations follow its investigation into a case initiated suo motu in October 2022, prompted by a media report. The report alleged that girls were being trafficked in several districts of Rajasthan, then transported to Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Mumbai, Delhi, and even foreign countries. According to the report, these girls were reportedly subjected to physical abuse, torture, and sexual assault while in captivity.

The Commission has also taken note of the plight of women dancers from Mumbai bars trafficked from Rajasthan and “forced into prostitution” as pointed out in the report of its Special Rapporteur, the rights panel said.

Consequently, the NHRC has instructed the chief secretary and Director General of Police of Rajasthan to dispatch a team, led by an officer no lower in rank than an Inspector General of Police, to Mumbai. The purpose of this investigation is to ascertain the conditions faced by girls in dance bars, the statement read.

The Commission has asked the DGP, Maharashtra to extend help to Rajasthan Police in this regard to take effective steps to prevent such incidents and ensure their repatriation to their original places and the state and district level committees ensure their rehabilitation in accordance with the directions issued by it, the statement said.

The NHRC noted that despite recent cases concerning the "selling of girls" in certain communities, the disturbing practice appears to persist "unabated" and "unchecked".

The Commission has also observed that despite stringent provisions in the law and the judgments of the Supreme Court and the Madhya Pradesh High Court in different cases having reference to human trafficking, it cannot be said that the desired result has been achieved, it said.