Guwahati: Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) has found that underprivileged and illiterate youths from rural, remote areas of Assam are targeted to be trafficked to Bihar, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh using profitable jobs to lure them.This came to light after the rescue of 115 persons from the age group 15- 35, which includes 39 minors and 48 women, from Samastipur in Bihar on June 17 by Mission Mukti Foundation, a Delhi-based rescue and relief organisation, and SSB. Of the 115, 25 belonged to West Bengal and remaining were from Assam.Inspector Manoj Kumar Sharma, Sector Headquarters SSB at Mangaldoi in Assam, said, “The youths rescued from Samastipur hail from different parts of Assam, including the remote villages in Tamulpur district along the Indo-Bhutan border, Udalguri, Tinsukia and Biswanath Chariali,” he added.The inspector said the traffickers lured the youths by promising them high-profit jobs and took them to Bihar. “The traffickers took Rs 25,000 per person for taking them to Bihar. Later, the victims were kept confined in rented rooms and were forced to trap other people they knew in the name of govt job. Joining fees are taken from them, and this entire network operates like an organised fraud and human trafficking gang,” he added.The victims are provided limited food using a small portion of money they loot from the victims when they are trafficked.The trafficking case came to light when a woman victim contacted her elder sister, hailing from a village along the Indo-Bhutan border, and told her about the trafficking racket. She contacted the SSB through an NGO – Assam Centre for Rural Development (ACRD). “The victim girl was trafficked to Bihar on Jan 27. The girl had tried to escape but failed,” he added.“Accordingly, the Mission Mukti Foundation, with the help of SSB and Bihar Police, rescued the victims from a location under the jurisdiction of Muffasil Police Station in Samastipur in Bihar. The process of sending the victims back to their homes is underway,” he added.The inspector added that a total of nine traffickers, two from Assam and the others from Bihar, have been arrested.Meanwhile, Mission Mukti Foundation director Virender Singh told TOI that it is a serious matter of concern as the traffickers target the financially weaker section, luring them with high-profit jobs in other states. “There might be thousands of trafficking victims in other parts of Bihar. Falling into the traps may end in trafficking. Awareness and education are very important to prevent such cases,” he added.
