The virtual recording of testimonies of child trafficking survivors and prosecution witnesses will be a giant leap forward in ensuring that survivors obtain justice
The recent Supreme Court directive ordering virtual recording of testimonies of child trafficking survivors and prosecution witnesses, who are required to depose in courts which are far from their place of residence, will be a giant leap forward in ensuring that survivors obtain justice. Despite being illegal in India, the malaise of forced and bonded labour is widespread and commercial sexual exploitation of children and child trafficking persist, often with impunity for the perpetrators of the crime and limited legal recourse for the survivors. Children, both girls and boys from marginalised families in the country, are trafficked to engage in various exploitative situations. While minor boys are subject to child labour, forced labour, bonded labour, most of the girls end up serving as domestic help and sex slaves, where they are commercially exploited for sex. Sadly, child trafficking is a demand-driven problem. There is a demand for children in the labour and commercial sex market, so there is a supply. In fact, there are industries which primarily run on the nimble fingers of children such as bangle-making, zari-making, firecracker production and also cotton farming. Children are engaged in cotton farms because of their short height that enables faster plucking of cotton.
Shockingly, the crime of human trafficking through Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was codified post the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape-cum-murder incident, although it has been termed unconstitutional in the country from the time the Constitution of India became effective. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) figures released in 2018, there were 1,830 reported cases of human trafficking in the nation. However, activists say that the actual figure could be much higher as many victims do not register cases with the police, largely because they do not know the law or fear the traffickers.
In the same year, the Government completed prosecution in 545 cases, convicted 322 traffickers in 95 cases and acquitted 1,124 suspects in 450 cases. The acquittal rate in trafficking cases touched 83 per cent in 2018. Poverty, involvement of huge money and an extremely low rate of conviction contribute to child trafficking becoming a huge problem in the country.
After victims are rescued and a criminal case is lodged, often the subsequent police investigation and prosecution does not result in a conviction as a majority of cases are inter-State and there is a weak mechanism for coordination among the States to deal with such crimes. Survivors or witnesses are either taken to the court by the traffickers to speak in their favour or the victims fail to appear in the court because they do not have time, money and the energy to pursue the case. Consequently, the traffickers often get away with the crime with impunity. On the other hand, survivors are often harassed, intimidated and become vulnerable to social stigma, on top of poor investigations and slow trials resulting in the victim feeling further victimised.
Cases of intimidation of the witnesses and their families are very high. A perfect example of this is the Raushan case (not his real name). Raushan along with four other children, all natives of Gaya, Bihar, was rescued from one of the bangle-making factories of Jaipur, Rajasthan, in 2016. Afterwards they appeared in the Jaipur court and recorded their testimonies against the alleged trafficker. They had to face severe threats and intimidation upon arrival in their home State. After three months, Raushan, his mother and the mother of another child labourer who had also testified against the trafficker, were kidnapped. They were being taken to Jaipur by a train to turn hostile in the court case against the traffickers when they were rescued just 110 kms away from Gaya. This was done through the swift intervention of the ADG-CID who was approached for help by social workers. Consequently, a second FIR of kidnapping of three persons was lodged against the same trafficker and his accomplices in Gaya. In the absence of a strong protection mechanism, re-trafficking is another major challenge in the fight against child trafficking. This is because trafficked children become skilled over a period of time and become assets for establishments that require their services. That’s why they become subject to re-trafficking upon being rescued or soon after reintegration with their families.
For instance, during the lockdown necessitated by the Coronavirus pandemic, a 12-year-old boy Shailendra (not his real name) was rescued from a bangle-making factory in Jaipur along with other children. However, his 13-year-old elder brother Narendra (not his real name), was hidden by the traffickers during the rescue operation. After Shailendra was re-united with his family in Gaya, he revealed the shocking nature of the torture that he along with other children had been going through at the hands of the factory owners.
“If we did not do the work properly, or accidentally broke a bangle, we were thrashed mercilessly. After long working hours when we dozed off late in the night chilli powder was sprinkled into our eyes as punishment for sleeping. They had a music system in the room and whenever they would beat us they would play the music at full volume to drown out our cries, so that no one could know what was happening in the factory,” Shailendra told his parents.
However, within a week of the rescue, the trafficker arrived at their home asking for Shailendra to be taken back to the factory in Jaipur. This was vehemently opposed by the parents and they insisted that their older son, Narendra be sent home, too. But the trafficker kept mounting pressure on them to allow the child to go back to Jaipur with him. He told the parents that if they did not comply with his wishes their elder child would be killed. The mother spoke with Vijay Kewat, a social worker associated with a non-governmental organisation fighting against child trafficking, who took her to a nearby police station to lodge an FIR against the trafficker. The FIR was registered and Narendra was finally brought back home by Gaya police in December 2020. A witness protection application with the support of an NGO has been moved to the competent authority in the district in this regard.
Given the grim scenario surrounding child trafficking, recording of testimonies through videoconferencing will have a huge impact on the thriving racket in the country. There are around 12 to 15 child traffickers in a few cities of Bihar who have been active for a long time and are still involved in aiding and abetting of trafficking of children. Over the last three years, 922 children, all natives of Bihar, have been rescued from Jaipur.
After the apex court’s order, two cases have been identified on a pilot basis for the recording of the testimonies virtually. One is to be done between the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Court-2, Jaipur, and the POCSO Court, Gaya in Bihar and the other which has already been put in motion, is between the Additional Sessions Court, Karkardooma, Delhi, and the POCSO Court, Sitamarhi in Bihar.
The traffickers often belong to the neighbouring or same village as the survivors, and are well-off and politically well-connected. The traffickers are always in a position to influence survivors or their families who usually hail from marginalised communities. Hence, they are resourceless and powerless and if they are not provided proper care under the witness protection scheme, the whole exercise will prove futile.
The writer is Executive Director, Centre DIRECT. The views expressed are personal.