The governments of West Bengal and Maharashtra have signed a memorandum of understanding to ensure identification and repatriation of women and children who are victims of trafficking.
Taking exception to the Maharashtra Police sending victims of trafficking who speak Bengali back to West Bengal, the government last week signed the MoU to follow a standard operating procedure to establish identities of those rescued.
“We have seen that in most cases when the Maharashtra Police rescue some women or children and find that they are Bengali-speaking, they send them to the State without ascertaining their identity or following any procedures,” West Bengal Minister for Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Sashi Panja told The Hindu .
Since the identities of those rescued are not ascertained sometimes, rescue homes in the State are flooded with women and girls from Bangladesh, Dr. Panja said. On several occasions, police from other States brought the victims to the shelters without informing the State government. This, the Minister said, added to the victims’ ordeal.
Principal Secretary, Social Welfare Department Roshni Sen, it is learnt, signed the MoU on behalf of the State. Maharashtra will repatriate the women directly to Bangladesh once the place they are from is confirmed. “Under no circumstances will women [victims] who speak Bengali be transferred to West Bengal till family tracing is done,” officials of the department said.
Dr. Panja said the government had plans to ink a similar agreement with the government of Karnataka.
Welcome development West Bengal Commission for Women chairpersonSunanda Mukherjee said the SOP would force Maharashtra to take responsibility. Not only West Bengal, women were trafficked from the entire eastern region, including from neighbouring countries, she said. Representatives of different NGOs from the State have welcomed the development and said the SOP would help in quick repatriation of the victims.
