Police to rescue boys from Punjab

Statesman News Service

MALDA. Aug. 3: A special team of South Dinajpur police will leave for Ambala in Punjab tomorrow to rescue 11 minor boys who had allegedly been “sold off” there a month ago by a group of traffickers, a senior police officer said today. Authorities said the traffickers whisked these minor boys away from their villages by assuring their parents that they (the boys) would be offered decent jobs in Punjab. The South Dinajpur SP, Mr Kalyan Mallick, said: “We don’t know whether they had been offered jobs or sold off there. Our team will leave for Ambala tomorrow to rescue the boys. We will be in a position to comment more on this issue only after completing our investigation.” After receiving several complaints from parents in various villages, police yesterday arrested an agent for his alleged involvement in the human trafficking racket. The police are interrogating the arrested agent to find out the exact place in Ambala where the 11 minor boys were kept. The accused will also accompany the police to Ambala. “The accused told the police that he had sold off the boys in Ambala, but he did not have any information about where they have been kwpt and what they are doing”, Mr Mallick said. “Not only these 11 boys, many such boys and girls from South Dinajpur are being trafficked to different states of the country. Agents and touts collect these boys and girls with the permission of their parents. The parents of these 11 boys did the same thing and now they have been repenting,” Mr Mallick added. Officials said that acute poverty compel the parents to hand over their children to the human traffickers.The South Dinajpur district administration, meanwhile, has planned to launch an awareness campaign to combat human trafficking. “ We have prepared some leaflets for circulation and decided to organise slide shows in the villages to curb the menace”, the SP said.