The Jharkhand High Court has directed the state government to formulate guidelines for the identification of persons coming from outside the state, especially in light of growing human trafficking concerns. The direction came while the Court was hearing a habeas corpus petition concerning a missing six-year-old girl from Gumla.
A division bench of Justices Sujit Narayan Prasad and Arun Kumar Rai passed the order on Wednesday, emphasizing the role of local police stations in implementing the identification mechanism. The Court expressed serious concern over cross-border trafficking and the involvement of individuals from outside the state.
The petition was filed by Chandramuni Urain, whose daughter went missing in 2018 from the Gumla district. During the hearing, Gumla Superintendent of Police Haris Bin Zaman informed the bench that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to trace the minor.
While the missing child is yet to be found, the SIT has recovered nine other children, all victims of human trafficking, the SP stated. He assured the Court that the search for the girl is still ongoing.
The state counsel informed the Court that Ranchi Police recently uncovered an inter-district and inter-state trafficking racket. Two minor siblings from Jagannathpur, Dhurwa (Ranchi) were rescued, showing the widespread and organised nature of the criminal network.
The Court noted that in several instances, the accused in trafficking cases were undocumented individuals from outside Jharkhand.
The Court condemned the devastating impact of human trafficking on children, stating in its order:
“The crime has devastating consequences for the physical, cognitive and socio-emotional development of children. Victims often suffer lifelong health issues, severe trauma, related disorders, anxiety, depression, and difficulties in social integration.”
It further noted that children are “nearly twice as likely to suffer extreme violence” when trafficked.
- The Home Department Secretary has been directed to appear virtually before the Court for a detailed interaction and to discuss possible policy measures.
- The Superintendent of Police, Gumla has been asked to submit a status report on the ongoing investigation.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on January 27.
