A teenaged girl along with her two-year-old child, who was allegedly trafficked, has been rescued from Siliguri town in neighbouring West Bengal and brought back to Assam on Wednesday, police said.
A report published in the Business Standard stated that the girl, a resident of Rangia in Kamrup district of Assam, was missing for the last two months and was rescued when the West Bengal Police busted a sex racket in Siliguri recently. The report further stated that the girl alleged that a woman and her son from Guwahati lured her and then sold her in a red light area of the town.
During a raid, the West Bengal Police rescued the girl and during interrogation she informed them that she hails from Assam, police in Rangia said. After being informed, a team of Assam Police went to Siliguri and brought the girl back along with her child.
The police have launched a search operation to nab the woman and her son (in Guwahati) who allegedly sold her in the red light area. As far as human trafficking in Assam is concerned, organised gangs continue to operate unchecked. A study carried out by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Assam Government few years back found that Sonitpur and Kokrajhar are the worst-affected districts vis-à-vis human trafficking.