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Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, July 29: Eighty-one thousand one hundred and thirty cases of human trafficking were recorded in 2016, according to a report from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
West Bengal topped the list with 3,579 cases, accounting for 44% of the total cases in the country. Rajasthan ranked second with 1,422 cases.
The data also showed that 23,117 human trafficking victims were rescued in 2016. As many as 14,183 of the victims rescued in 2016 were below the age of 18 years.
The NCRB also stated that while 22,932 of those rescued were Indian citizens, 38 were Sri Lankans and Nepalese. Thirty-three of the foreigners rescued were identified as Bangladeshis, while 73 were from other countries including Thailand and Uzbekistan.
Among the north-eastern states, Assam recorded 91 cases in 2016 while Nagaland had no record of human trafficking. Manipur reported three cases, Meghalaya had seven, Mizoram and Arunachal had two each, while Sikkim had one.
Forced labour was one of the main reasons for human trafficking followed by sexual exploitation, according to the data.
