Three Manipuri girls recused from fraudsters in Karnataka

IMPHAL | Oct 26

A co-operative team work of Karnataka Police, Manipur Police and Women Helpline rescued three Manipuri girls of Senapati and Churchandpur district from the hands of fraudsters in Karnataka, said the manager of Helpline (Manipur), G. Ravi Shama in a press statement.

Ravi Sharma said that they will be arriving lmphal on October 2017 and will be handed over to their respected families after due process.

The statement said that a rescue operation was jointly conducted by Karnataka Police (Shimoga district), Manipur Police of lmphal West district and Women Helpline 181, Manipur where a young girl from Churachandpur called up Women Helpline Manipur 181, to enquire the authenticity of a job being offered to her in Bangalore in a beauty parlour as beautician along with two other girls (total three girls of which second girl is her sister-in-law who is a minor and third from Senapati) without any prior work experience. Though she was suspicious about the job, but she was enticed by the lucrative job offer as she had to support her ailing father and six young siblings, it added.

It said that all the three girls departed for Bangalore the next day before proper investigation about the offered job could be initiated with the help of Anti Human Trafficking Unit, Imphal West.

On the second day of their reaching Bangalore, Women Helpline received a distress call from her mother requesting them to rescue the girls as they had asked her for help. After contacting the girl, she informed us that instead of joining a beauty parlour, their agents have now asked to work in Spa as masseuse, giving body massages to the male walk-in customers and had put restriction to the use of mobile phone and now wanted them, that is, Women Helpline 181, Manipur to rescue them at the earliest, said the statement.

Further it said that she also managed to inform us that from her current location they were going to be taken to an unknown location towards Shivamogga district which was around 300 kms away.

Minute observations on the way and with presence of mind, key information such as their traveling bus number plates, milestones, roadside signage, etc. were passed on secretly by the brave girl to Women Helpline 181, Manipur and Imphal West Police, which was again further shared with Karnataka police of Shivamogga police station and finally managed to intercept the bus by getting in touch with the bus driver and the bus conductor and all three were thus rescued safely in time, it continued.

Until the rescued girls were repatriated to Manipur, they will be kept at a place of safety for women at Ujjawala Home run by the Ministry of Women and Child and government of Karnataka, it maintained.

Deputy Director (WP), Biobala Nongmeikapam, Hepline manager, Gurumayum Ravi Sharma and the entire team of Women Helpline 181 appealed to the public especially young girls from the Hill districts to remain vigilant against such lucrative job offerings and incentives outside the state.

They also urged the guardians to keep their wards against such fraudulent advertisement over the internet and job placement centres. Verification and confirmation of authenticity of jobs should be carefully carried out before sending them outside the state.

It further appealed to the public to contact Women Helpline on its toll free number #181 for any kind of women in distress situation and look forward for cooperation from community leaders, tribe apex bodies, village leaders, religious leaders and media to curb the menace of human trafficking.