Concerns over the trafficking of women and minor girls from border areas of Tripura's Sonamura subdivision have intensified, even as police rescued three minor girls before they were allegedly being trafficked to Chennai on Tuesday.
Police sources said that an organised trafficking network has been targeting economically vulnerable families in the subdivision by luring young girls with promises of jobs in the glamour industry and other employment opportunities outside the state. Authorities suspect that some victims have been sold to red-light areas in other states, while others have reportedly been forced to work in bars. Border villages in the subdivision are said to be the primary targets of the trafficking racket.
In the latest incident, bordering Sonamura subdivision of Sepahijala district, police rescued two minor girls from Melaghar and another from Kakraban before they could be trafficked to Chennai. Two juvenile boys were also detained for their alleged involvement in the trafficking network.
During the investigation, police found that the detained juveniles had been in regular contact with the rescued girls through mobile phones. Investigators believe the girls were lured with promises of jobs at bars in Chennai. The three girls had reportedly gone missing from their homes a day earlier. Acting on mobile phone call records, police traced and rescued them before they could be taken out of the state, a police official said.
Police sources further revealed that four cases related to human trafficking have been registered at different police stations in Sonamura subdivision over the past few days. In one of the cases, efforts are still underway to rescue a girl believed to have already been taken to another state.
The series of incidents has raised serious concerns among the district administration as well as local residents, with parents expressing growing anxiety over the safety of young girls.
Sepahijala district has witnessed a relatively higher number of cases involving child marriage and the trafficking of women and minor girls. To combat these crimes, the district administration has launched 'Mission Sankalp', a special awareness campaign initiated under the leadership of the District Magistrate. While the campaign has yielded encouraging results in raising public awareness, the recent trafficking incidents have emerged as a fresh challenge to the initiative and underscored the need for stronger preventive measures and stricter enforcement against trafficking networks.