50,000 Bangladeshi Girls Trafficked Into India Every Year

As many as 50,000 Bangladeshi girls are trafficked to or through India every year, according to a BSF study. Human trafficking from Bangladesh to India has grown to a great extent. It now operates on the basis of demand and supply, says the report.

Districts in West Bengal most vulnerable to human trafficking are Murshidabad, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur, Nadia, Malda and Cooch Behar. They are transits for Bangladeshi girls. Poor Bangladeshi girls are falsely offered jobs in India.

Agents lure them by promising them household work, work in movies, and even false promises of marriage. Once the victims and trafficker enter India, the trafficker sells the girl to a brothel

According to the BSF, there is a network of touts in Bangladesh. There are agents and sub-agents who have contact with people in border villages. Most of these people are male and only 16 per cent is female.

Bangladeshi touts typically look for girls from poor and vulnerable families in Bangladesh. ".......There is so much of poverty in Bangladesh that the touts easily gets their target at bus stands and railway stations across the country,"  says BSF.

In India, the most preferred destinations for the girls are Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Other cities include Raipur and Surat.

Researchers have recommended focusing on border patches which are vulnerable to trafficking. Increasing efforts to identify trafficking victims among vulnerable population should be undertaken.

Human trafficking in India

A report by the Indian National Crime Records Bureau of the Ministry of Home Affairs states that about 20,000 women and children were victims of human trafficking in India in the last year. This is a rise of nearly 22 per cent from 2015.

West Bengal, which shares a porous border with Bangladesh and Nepal, recorded the highest number of trafficked woman and children. Rajasthan showed second-highest trafficked children in 2016, while Maharashtra showed the second-highest number of trafficked women.

Also Read: School For Justice: Turning Survivors Of Human Trafficking Into Lawyers