Other States - Orissa   

Trafficking goes unchecked

CUTTACK: The recent rescuing of three minor Oriya girls from Ahmedabad by the crime branch police and another sex worker from the city on Sunday by the local police speaks volumes about immoral trafficking in the State. These are only tip of the iceberg notwithstanding the fact that the State has now earned the dubious distinction of a top ranking state in terms of women trafficking in the country.

The number of cases registered under Immoral Trafficking (Prevention) Act by various police stations in the State is not encouraging. And what worries more is that out of the handful cases registered under ITPA, over 99 percent of cases have been pending trial for more than five years now.

According to statistics available from crime branch of police here, out of some 125 cases registered under ITPA in the State during last six years, only one case registered in 2002 has been disposed of convicting two sex workers and a pimp while remaining cases are pending trial in various courts till date.

A senior crime branch official says local police continue to conduct raids at various hotels, lodgings and other places, book the accused under various sections of ITPA, forward them to court and file the charge-sheets in stipulated time leaving the matter to be decided by the courts. “ However, shortage of staff in the police stations and other infrastructure lacunae are also coming in the way for a proper investigation,” the officer said. While charge-sheets in almost all the cases have been submitted, only one of the above cases has been disposed of, he says explaining that police have been doing their duty perfectly.

A leading lawyer of the city, however, puts the entire blame on the prosecution claiming that in most of the cases, proper investigations are not done and charge-sheets are ‘weakly’ and ‘erroneously’ framed as a result the cases do not stand the scrutiny of law. Moreover, the prosecutions at times do not push the cases hard for a logical conclusion with a motive to protect the accused persons, the lawyer alleged. In most cases it becomes difficult to establish the link between the pimp and sex worker as a result the cases continue pending at trial stage.

Dolly Dash, secretary of the Project Swarajya, a leading NGO working on anti-trafficking campaign in state, says: “Lack of coordination between prosecution and judiciary is the main hurdle to bring in any social reform and as a result the aims and objectives of the Act have been defeated”.

She calls for a total reform in both judiciary and law enforcing agencies so as to bring in some semblance in giving exemplary punishment to women traffickers. “Due to weak charges and hostile prosecution the accused get bails easily and since the cases continue pending in courts for several days, the sex workers and their agents re-start their sordid affairs clandestinely,” she observes.

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