WCD minister clueless about human trafficking case busted in US Nagar
DEHRADUN: Women and child development minister Rekha Arya was caught off-guard regarding the police rescue of six women from Nepal who were allegedly being trafficked to the Gulf countries.
On Saturday, the police arrested three people, including a woman, from a bus terminus in Udham Singh Nagar and rescued the six women. The women had come from Tanakpur city in Champawat district bordering Nepal and were being taken to Delhi by the alleged traffickers, according to Udham Singh Nagar SSP Sadanad Date.
At the BJP headquarters during Janata Darshan event on Monday, Arya was caught unaware when Hindustan Times questioned about the incident and how Terai and border areas were emerging as a hub for human trafficking. “I don’t know about the incident,” she said. The minister added that she would be seeking updates from the police about the case.
Later, Arya asserted she would order a probe after holding discussion with chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. In her defence, a BJP worker told HT that Rawat was ready to order a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe but not before discussing the matter with Arya.
The WCD minister was clueless when this reporter informed her how border areas of Uttarakhand serve as a gateway for trafficking women and children to metro cities such as Delhi and Mumbai. “I don’t have knowledge of the subject. But, let me convene a meeting to understand what’s happening and we can do to check this trade,” she said.
Regarding exploitation of child labourers, she said the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) was taking due cognizance in these matters and, in consultation with the Commission, she would constitute teams to carry out surprise raids, if needed.
To a separate query regarding her husband Girdhari Lal Sahu, Arya it was a conspiracy to defame her. “It’s a conspiracy to defame me and my family,” she said, adding that her husband had already rebutted the allegations.
Sahu’s domestic help Naresh Gangwar has alleged that the minister’s husband lured him to donate his kidney in exchange of money and a house. At a press conference, Sahu accepted his first wife underwent a kidney transplant for which he had taken affidavit from the donor.