Kolkata: Technology and social media have become aides of both cops and traffickers, an analysis of recent events across Bengal shows, with Malda and South 24 Parganas among the worst affected. Anti-trafficking NGOs working in Bengal revealed the study on World Day against Trafficking in Persons on Thursday.Just Rights for Children and Kosi Lok Manch, two NGOs battling child trafficking, received four cases from Bengal in three days, and intense operations led to four minor girls being rescued. They girls were rescued from Delhi, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. All were initially reported to be victims of kidnapping. The minors had managed to contact their families, sharing immediate information of their whereabouts.Whether it was setting up the trap for the accused, or their girls’ rescue, technology played a role. According to information received, the girls had been lured with employment opportunities and pushed into exploitative conditions instead.Rishi Kant, national coordinator of Just Rights for Children, said recently a lot of young girls are being lured with different promises using technology. “We intervened in a case from Malda, where young girls were lured with the promise of enrolment in a K-pop group. But with help of police, we immediately stopped them from being exploited. This year, we are thus observing the theme ‘Trapped behind the scam’ on World Day against Trafficking in Persons,” he said. Over the past few years, the number of missing women and children has increased across south Bengal, with South 24 Parganas standing out as a primary hub. In most cases, they were lured through social media. In the last year alone, nearly 200 girls and women have gone missing from this district. Overall, Bengal has reported the highest number of missing children in India, and 87% of them are girls. For the record, the recovery, too, has been healthy in Bengal — ranging between 75% to over 80%. “The need of the hour is to reach out to each district and each school and make children aware of the pitfalls of technology,” said an activist.Activists say there is no way to crosscheck the hundreds of placement agencies who contact women on social media, their elders having no idea of where their wards are being lured.
