Cops lay down guidelines to prevent child trafficking Bhubaneswar: The Crime Branch has developed a standard operating procedure (SOP) that police personnel should follow to prevent child labour and trafficking in the state. Crime Branch, which is the nodal agency in Odisha to supervise police investigations into offences, said the superintendents of police (SPs) have been asked to launch special drives against child traffickers. Last year, 55 children were trafficked for child labour in the state, police sources said. The Crime Branch, in its circular to SPs, said there has been a rise in the trend of employing children in different workplaces and homes. More ... 3 Indian 7 Nepalese girls held captive in Kenya rescued- Sushma Swaraj New Delhi: The government has rescued from Kenya three Indian and seven Nepalese girls, who were victims of an organised crime syndicate that indulged in human trafficking, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said on Thursday. The girls have been flown back, the minister said. In a series of tweets, Swaraj said, We have rescued three Indian girls from Kenya. The girls were victims of an organised crime syndicate that indulged in trafficking of girls. Seven Nepalese girls were also rescued. Their Passports and phones were taken and they were held captive in Mombasa. More ... Orphanages, adoption under Supreme Court scanner for child trafficking The Supreme Court on Thursday initiated a process to look into the working of orphanages across the country, saying the nation’s future depended on the destiny of its children and nothing can be more disastrous than them being sold. Expanding the scope of a petition filed by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which pertained to alleged trafficking of children in West Bengal, a three-judge bench headed by CJI Dipak Misra asked the states to apprise it about the running of orphanages, treatment given to the children in these centres and method of adoption followed. The court stayed an order of Calcutta High Court, restraining the national commission from acting on instances of alleged child trafficking in the state. More ... SC sends notices to Centre, states over measures taken to combat child trafficking Stating that nothing was more ‘disastrous than the sale of children’, the Supreme Court on Thursday sent notices to states and the Centre to know what measures they have taken to combat child trafficking. “A child cannot be bartered away at the whim and fancy or selfishness of the person in-charge of orphanages. The person concerned may be liable for violation of human rights,” read the order passed by a CJI Dipak Misra-headed bench as it brought the rules related to functioning of orphanages in various states under its scrutiny. More ... Twenty-year term for madrasa teacher in POCSO case A man working as a teacher in a city madrasa has been sentenced to 20 years in jail for sexually abusing two siblings — a 13-year-old boy and his 11-year-old sister — repeatedly in 2015. The 30-year-old accused was convicted under 377 (unnatural sex) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for sexually abusing the 13-year-old. He was also handed out a five-year term for molesting the 11-year-old girl. More ... Why no exclusive human rights courts yet- Supreme Court asks States? Every day, an average of 16 children are reported missing in the Capital, according to Delhi Police data. This number is despite efforts made by the police through its various programmes like ‘Operation Smile’, ‘Operation Milap’, and ‘Operation Muskaan’ aimed at reuniting missing children with their families. The Supreme Court on Thursday asked States why exclusive human rights courts had not been set up yet. During a hearing, the Court highlighted how the human rights law of 1993 makes States responsible for setting up exclusive human rights courts with special public prosecutors in every district. “But till now not a single State has done it,” Chief Justice Dipak Misra remarked. While staying an order passed by the Calcutta High Court against a probe into the trafficking of children lodged in orphanages, the apex court has included all the States as parties in the litigation. It also issued notices ordering them to respond about this 25-year-old lapse within the next two weeks. More ... | 
