Manipur girls trafficked to Myanmar being brought back: CM

Imphal, Sep 12 (IANS) Chief Minister N. Biren Singh on Tuesday said 14 Manipuri tribal girls, who are victims of human trafficking and were sent to Yangon in Myanmar on way to Thailand, are being brought back to their respective homes.

"Eight of the fourteen girls are on their way to Imphal. The remaining six will also be brought back soon," Biren Singh said.

"Five women and one man have been arrested on charges of trafficking these girls for immoral purposes. Police are going to arrest more persons once the girls reach Manipur," he added.

Like many other girls, these 14 girls were duped and taken to Myanmar after paying Rs 10,000 each to their unlettered poor parents. The accused also promised to pay Rs 90,000 more for each, according to police who have made preliminary investigations.

Some girls managed to contact police in Churachandpur district praying to be rescued. The External Affairs Ministry got in touch with the Myanmar authorities and rescued the girls from a hotel in Yangon. Police in Churachandpur district have set up a special investigation team to probe human trafficking in Manipur.

So far no human trafficker has been convicted and the affected parents are not happy with this. They also say that a notice issued by the Social Welfare Department has not reached them as they are far away from the state capital.

In an advisory, the department said parents should not get duped but confirm the authenticity of the persons and institutes promising jobs and education to girls.

Almost all girls end up as domestic servants and sex workers in foreign countries. Some girls who escaped from the clutches of the traffickers said they were not paid for their drudgery.

There have been some arrests of traffickers and many children were rescued. However, no trafficker has been convicted so far.