Trafficking: Rescued from Tamil Nadu, 6 repatriated to Bangladesh

Guwahati: In an initiative undertaken by Impulse NGO Network of Meghalaya, six Bangladeshi girls, who were rescued by the police in Tamil Nadu, were repatriated to their native country on Sunday.

The repatriation process was initiated by the NGO under its ‘Impulse Model Partnership’ initiative along the Indo-Bangladesh international border at Phulbari near Siliguri in West Bengal.

As per reports, the repatriation process was carried out on a request by the Madras Christian Council of Social Service, a Chennai-based NGO, in assistance with the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee (BRAC) and in collaboration with the Border Security Force (BSF) of India and and its counterpart, Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) of the neighbouring country.

The victims were rescued during raids on suspected brothels after which they were handed over to a shelter home for women in Tamil Nadu. Four of the six girls were minors when they were smuggled to Kolkata before being moved to other parts of the country for flesh trade four years ago.

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The border forces have played a key role in smooth operation of the repatriation process by adopting a standard operating procedure between the countries, as per a press statement issued by Impulse NGO Network on Wednesday.

As per the statement, the Union ministry of external affairs, ministry of home affairs and Foreigner Regional Registration Office of India along with the Bangladesh High Commission also played an important role in effective roll-out of the legal procedures and formalities required for the repatriation process to be completed.

In an effort to avoid overlapping or stagnation in the entire repatriation process, Impulse NGO Network with its successful past experiences and leadership in assisting human trafficking cases created a cohesive atmosphere among stakeholders that helped in fastening up of the long process that constitutes in repatriating foreigners as a whole.

“The constant effort put up by Impulse NGO Network in bridging gaps between civil society organisations, law enforcement agencies and governments helped in the effective and successful assistance of the human trafficking case,” the statement added.