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5 Manipur girls rescued from Malaysia, travel agent held
Indian embassy officials have rescued five girls belonging to Manipur who were illegally confined and tortured by unauthorised travel agents allegedly involved in human trafficking.
Indian embassy officials in Malaysia have rescued five girls belonging to Manipur who were illegally confined and tortured by unauthorised travel agents allegedly involved in human trafficking.
The girls, between 23 and 26 years, were lured by an Imphal-based travel agent with the promise of well-paid jobs in Singapore. They were taken to Kuala Lumpur and beaten up when they refused to join prostitution.
“The girls are now safe and have been put up in a secure shelter. The government is paying for their tickets to get them back home. Three of these girls don’t even have passports. They are being given emergency papers by our embassy officials,” Vyalar Ravi, the Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, said on Wednesday.
Ravi said one travel agent in Imphal has been arrested, but other members of his network scattered across many countries are still roaming free. State officials said the travel agents working in the name of an NGO, Abel and Leo Private Limited, had been active in recruiting girls for jobs of domestic helps in Singapore and Malaysia.
“The track record of this NGO has not been good and we are looking for the people who recruited girls in a fraudulent manner. This would not be allowed any further,” said a senior government official not willing to be named.
All five girls — who are from the Zeliangrong tribe and belong to one of Manipur’s most backward districts, Tamenglong — were taken to Singapore in January this year.
The father of one of the girls said he had allowed his daughter to go in the hope of improving the family’s financial condition. “But instead of getting money, I was asked by the agent to pay some more as he had sent the girls to Malaysia for better jobs.”
Social workers put the number of girls being lured by unauthorised agents from the state at nearly 150.
“The state and central governments need to crackdown on unauthorised agents. Not less than 150 girls have been kidnapped on false promises,” said Kinderson Pamei, chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee.
