News
Bangalore Begging Racket Busted
Our Oasis Anti-human trafficking team based in Bangalore recently completed a survey across the city together with 7 other organisations to investigate possible signs of trafficking. As the lead partner, the Oasis team co-ordinated an operation to rescue minor children that were begging (mainly at traffic lights), mothers with babies (not necessarily the biological mum) and other children involved in begging of some kind such as walking around with pictures of saints/gods, or doing some kind of entertainment act like tight rope walking. Many of these children are migrant and some could have been trafficked.
Co-operation was received from the local police and a raid was scheduled to take place in early December 2011. A team was on surveillance throughout the day prior to the raid. On the actual day of the raid, teams headed out to various areas, three of which had been prioritised.
The raid was covered in the newspapers, and CNN-IBN interviewed Oasis staff member Anita Kanaiya, about the raid and trafficking issues. The link to this clip is http://ibnlive.in.com/news/blore-begging-racket-busted-300-kids-rescued/211988-62-132.html
What's shocking is that over a third of these children are infants under the age of three. The infants are drugged and used all day to beg for money. Even more shocking is the chronic drugging of rescued infants who were still asleep even two days after the rescue. Oasis rescue worker Anita Kanaiya said, "It does affect their development, depending on how long the drug has been used and how much they've been subjected to this kind of torture out in the sun. We're not sure these babies belong to the adults; we're not even sure if they are relatives or not. Many who claim the babies are theirs, have no proof."
A rescued beggar said, "My parents sent me to beg and they said don't come home empty-handed. If I took less than Rs 200 (about £5) back they used to beat me."
The police have yet to catch the masterminds behind the begging, but say they have video evidence of nearly 1100 children being forced to beg by suspected traffickers on the streets of Bangalore. The battle against this cruel exploitation has just started and so far only 30 per cent of those surveyed have been rescued. Police say the number of child beggars has risen in the last few months and the child traffickers who are arrested easily manage to get bail and that encourages this crime to continue across the country.
One of the aims of this operation named 'Rakshane' was to see the connection between child begging and child trafficking.
During this particular raids Oasis teams were able to rescue: 9 minor boys, 7 minor girls, 9 women with infants and 3 women who manage the child beggars. These children have been taken to safe homes which were pre-arranged and the Oasis Anti-human trafficking team will be conducting home studies - where they will establish where the child is from and if the home is safe for the child to return to, amongst other details. The children will also be given psychosocial support and further care plans will be structured after consultation with each of them.
22-Dec-2011