Our correspondent
BORDUMSA: What began as an investigation into suspected child trafficking and illegal placement has now widened into a major multi-district operation across Arunachal Pradesh, with Namsai Police tracing/recovering 38 persons, including 34 children and four adults, from different locations and arresting four alleged facilitators.
The scale of the operation has emerged as investigators continue to follow a trail that has taken them beyond Namsai district into Eastern and Central Arunachal Pradesh, raising the possibility of a wider network involved in the transportation and placement of children.
While talking to The Sentinel, Namsai Superintendent of Police Sangey Thinley said the operation was not confined to any particular district. The victims were traced and recovered from different parts of Eastern and Central Arunachal Pradesh, he said, adding that the investigation is assuming a statewide dimension as fresh leads continue to emerge.
Asked whether any links involving neighbouring Assam, either in terms of victims or suspected traffickers, had surfaced, Thinley said the investigation was not being treated as merely an intra-State matter and that all emerging leads and possible linkages were being examined.
The developments relate to Namsai P.S. Case No. 54/2026, in which police have intensified efforts to establish the complete chain behind the suspected trafficking and illegal-placement operation. The latest status was disclosed in a press release issued by Namsai District Police on Sunday.
A fresh arrest has further strengthened the probe. Smt. Rupali Padung, described by police as another main facilitator, has been arrested, taking the total number of persons arrested in the case to four. Police are examining her alleged role as well as the involvement of other persons connected with the transportation and placement of the victims.
Far from limiting the probe to the recovery of victims, investigators are pursuing financial transactions, electronic evidence, transportation routes and placement arrangements to identify every link in the suspected network. Police are also scrutinising the circumstances in which the children and other persons were allegedly placed at different locations.
Those with whom the children or other persons had allegedly been placed, along with the concerned parents and guardians, are being examined. Their individual roles and the circumstances surrounding each placement are being verified, with police stating that legal action will follow wherever involvement is established through evidence.
The recovery of 34 children has simultaneously necessitated a comprehensive protection and rehabilitation response. The CWC and DCPU are coordinating measures concerning their care, protection, counselling, rehabilitation and welfare.
The geographical spread of the recoveries has widened the scope of the probe, with police now linking leads emerging from different parts of Arunachal Pradesh.
With 38 persons traced/recovered and four facilitators arrested, investigators are examining financial, communication and transportation links to identify further members of the suspected network.
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