Case in Brief:

Introduction

Recently it turned out that organized crime has been organizing auctions with children for “domestic work purposes” since decades in a small village 40 km east of Vijayawada – Krishna District- Andhra Pradesh – India. 

Fact Finding Team:

1. I. Surya Narayana, Founder, Adivasi Mahila Union.
2. B.Manjula, District Coordinator, Dalit Sthree Shakti.
3. Jhansi Geddam, Convener, Dalit Sthree Shakti. 

New cases of child trafficking in Mantada village / Andhra Pradesh: There is a population of 5,228 in Mantada.  They are all migrants from Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam.  There are 10 DWACRA groups, 5 Anganwadi Centres, 3 Elementary Schools here.  Only 30-40 children are studying.  Women are engaged in agricultural works.  Men work in factories or drive autos.  Here all men are addicted to alcohol. 

Since some years, the business of trafficking children for domestic work is going on in this village.  Girl children aged 13 years or above are taken to other districts.  Some brokers are engaged in taking these children for work.  They take a commission of Rs.1,000/- to Rs.2,000/- from the owners.  The girls are given Rs.10,000/- to Rs.15,000/- per year.  Some houses are supplied with 2-3 children.  This is extended to Vijayawada, Hyderabad, Bangalore and America.  Every year June is the season for this business.  Brokers and owners come and take the children then. 

Meanwhile, media collected information from a girl called Veera Bhavani who ran away from the owner’s house and took this to the collector.  The district collector responded immediately and the entire story came out.  14 brokers were taken into custody and brought all the children back who trafficked from them.  

18 brokers engaged in employing at least 53 children on contract to different areas from the Mantada were produced before a special court on August 7^th 2006. Three of the brokers remained in police custody for further inquiry, later released on bail. The other traffickers are supposed to bring back the children that had been sold for a commission of 10.000 R$ each in the district. Also, the child traders are being forced by law to monthly attend special meetings with the officials and to attend different stations in the district for several times a week. During the hearing it turned out that the 47 children saved from conditions of forced labour had been influenced to speak on behalf of their brokers and employers.

The mission was completed with a contented of tracing 15 children employed in the house hold work as domestic servants  “Children under bonded labour” freed to experience the joy of liberation. (among these 15 children 10 children were handed over to parents, 5 children were almost 18 years and willing to continue the work with the master)  13 houses were abouts seems false, in spite of knocking every nook and corner of the city and 6 children couldn’t be found at the addresses provided. The search team has encountered with 2 cases on their way. 6 cases reported to Hyderabad city child line to trace out and 6 cases were in and out side the Krishna Dist could be identified.  To rescue and to restore the lives of 44 children caught in the bunkers of exploitation in domestic work, the child line with the helping hand of the police raided the houses where children of trafficked were staying. Out of 44 children, 32 children were place in Vijayawada and 6 cases in Hyderabad and 6 in and around Krishna Dist.

\\\"For 30 years, this has been our livelihood. Not just for getting money, even just for survival, for just eating, we did it for several years because our wage earnings are very low,\\\" said Konda, a broker

\\\"I am angry because this is our livelihood. From when my mother was a child, this has been going on. I also went and worked as contract domestic labour.”

\\\"My children are small but once they grow up, I will send them to work as domestic labour. I don\\\'t have any other option. We can eat only if all of us work with our two hands\\\".

\\\"For so many years, where was the government? You did nothing for us, now you promise education, jobs. Where will they come from, all of a sudden?,\\\" added the villager.

\\\"My father does not go to work. My brother gets work sometimes. It is not enough for us. If you stop us from working, how should we survive,\\\" said Durga, a rescued child. The District Women & Child Welfare, Vijayawada reported that though the department has taken measures at their level to prevent sending the children as domestic child labour in towns from Mantada village, the problem were unsolvable due to the following reasons:

  Drinking habit

  Poor income

  Illiteracy

  Children as the main source of income

Further problem fields certainly include:

   Drought (alternative income sources needed children sold)      

     and bad seeds

  Tradition (“I also was a trafficked child.”)

  Lack of government aid in times of need

  Impunity for brokers and employers (for abuses and forced labour)

  Pull factors like possible work in industrial areas (fathers move away to work)                          vulnerable families without fathers

  Special local factors (e.g. the sugar factory (KCP) at Uyuru as a pull factor)

Case studies are necessary of course for development cooperation on the grass root level with the local people so a sustainable, successful progress in rural people’s life quality can be achieved and future trafficking prevented.

6. Further backgrounds on the Mantada cases

Most of the families and children employed recently through Mantada are migrants of Vijayanagaram of Tagarapuvalsa. They are all members of a caste called Reddika and belong to BC.

“The acute drought throughout the state for the last 4 to 5 years shuffled and muffled the lives of the poor. The poor in search for survival, dared to leave the roots of bonds established in villages in the name of migration. Mostly the people’s migration took place after the New Year celebration “Sankaranthi”  the capable leave the village with a promise that they return with plenty, leaving the old and young at homes to guard the “HOME” that  belong to them

The media and news prints have noted in the past that those who left at home, the old died due to lack of care and support and the young girls were sexually abused   by lust seekers and trafficked for bonded labour in Domestic work.”

Certainly agricultural problems through drought and another factor lined out in the following are important reasons for families in rural areas to sell their children as a lack of income.

Jhamo Manjhi s/o Bhuna Manjhi belonging to Musahar community, in Kemra village, Ariyari police station and taluk, Shekhpura district, Bihar state, was a bold and socially conscious person. He was a daily wage labourer. His wife Kismatiya Devi too helped him in the work for justice.

On September 5, 2003 Paro Devi w/o Jethan Manjhi had gone for the collection of the firewood. While her husband was on a mango tree the culprit Sanjay Singh sprang upon her suddenly and tried to rape her but he could not. The FIR no. 128/03 was filed against Sanjay Singh. From then on Sanjay Singh started threatening them and pressuring them to withdraw their FIR. At this, Jhamo Manjhi told the victim not to take any complaints back lodged by them. Threatened by that, Sanjay Singh s/o Rajniti Singh, Ritesh Singh s/o Rajniti Singh and Rajniti Singh s/o late Chandrika Singh, plotted to murder Jhamo Manjhi. And as per the plan on September 8, 2003, they murdered Jhamo Manjhi.

The FIR no.131/06 under sections 341,323,324,307,302 and SC/ST POA 1989- ¾ was lodged on 9/9/2006 and the body was taken to Sadar hospital in Munger. So far only one perpetrator has been arrested and the two of the perpetrators have run away from the village. No compensation has been paid. The case is under trial.

In Dhoolkot village, there is a majority of dominant caste, thus their dominance. Dalits are hated and humiliated by Dominant caste villagers. Sunita w/o Omprakash Bunkar, resident of village Dhoolkot, PS Virat Nagar, is an Anganwadi worker. She daily goes to Angan Wadi office, Luhakana around 9 am. On the day of the incident, 6^th September 2006, as per the routine, she was going to her office. Around 9:30 am, when she was passing by the millet field of Jai Singh Rajpoot, via a broken track, suddenly Magh Singh Rajput rushed out from that field, held her hand and dragged her inside that field in shade of the millet crops. Sunita shouted for help. Magh Singh beat her up to stop and clutched her mouth with a cloth. Sunita appealed him to let her go, but Magh Singh did not listen to her and brutally raped her beside her cries. Magh Singh beat Sunita at various parts of her body i.e. on her face and lips. He threatened her not to tell anyone about the incident otherwise he would kill her.

Somehow, Sunita released herself from Magh Singh and tried to run away from there. One person named Babu Lal was also in the farm and when Sunita was trying to escape, he mocked at her and moved towards her. Seeing him coming towards her, she changed her way and ran away to Luhakana. She went to her brother in law, Mool Chand’s home and told him about the whole incident. Her brother in law made a call to her husband and they all went to the place of incident with 15 -20 other villagers.  Babu Lal Swami was hiding himself in the field that time. When he was interrogated about the incident, he denied. Then the villagers threatened him to speak out the truth otherwise he will be handed over to Police. Then he confessed that he knows the culprit by his face but does not know his name. From that site, her brother in law called police and informed about the incident. At around 11:15 am, police arrived at the place of incident and investigated the matter. Police when interrogated Babu Lal about the incident, he admitted that he knows culprit’s name is Magh Singh and he is much known to him.

Police registered the case under appropriate sections 376, 120 B of Indian penal Code read with sections 3(1)(xii) & 3 (2)(v) of SC/ST (PoA) Act 1989. Statement of the victim was recorded under section 164 of Cr.P.C. On the same day of FIR, Sunita was sent for medical examination which was conducted by the medical board. Police arrested the accused within six hours of committing the crime. Within eight days police completed the investigation and presented charge sheet (challan) no. 107/06 against the accused on 14/9/06. Accused was sentenced 7 years rigorous imprisonment with a fine of Rs. 5000/- .Perpetrator’s family tried to influence the victim to compromise in the case. They threatened her to kill if she will not withdraw the case.