Women battalion to check crimes against women: CM

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 27: In a bid to check rising number of crimes against women and children in Assam, Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal directed the Home Department to initiate necessary steps to set up a women police battalion in the State.

The Chief Minister directed this while reviewing the human trafficking scerio in Assam in the Chief Minister’s conference room at Jata Bhawan today.

The Chief Minister also directed to constitute a high-level committee desigting Home Department as Nodal Agency to collect all relevant information related to human trafficking and to carryout anti-trafficking drives. Further, Sonowal also directed to intensify the surveillance and monitoring of human trafficking involving Labour and Social Welfare Department in the state.

The Chief Minister also stressed the need to develop an anti-trafficking mechanism from grass-roots level and asked the departments concerned to instruct the village headmen to prepare an extensive database of all human resources available in their respective villages. Sonowal also asked the department to ensure adequate monitoring of youth going outside Assam in search of job at village level, block development office level, circle office level and deputy commissioner level so that all information pertaining to allurement etc., could be effectively tracked.

Adding that strict implementation of anti-trafficking laws could substantially reduce such cases, the Chief Minister also asked the Additiol Chief Secretary (Labour) to prepare a draft act for giving exemplary punishment to those involved in such racket. While preparing the draft Act, the Chief Minister directed to include scope for mandatory disclosure of information regarding details of house maid, validity of placement agencies etc., so that they can come handy at times.

Expressing grave concern over the rising number of human trafficking cases, Chief Minister advocated a strong and effective law-enforcement mechanism to control such cases, adding that there is a need to amend certain portions of the existing Act to make it more effective.

Underling the need for spreading more awareness at grass-roots level, the Chief Minister further directed to organize awareness meetings on the issue of human trafficking amongst village headmen, panchayat officials, public representatives, village defence force etc.

Chief Minister’s Legal Adviser Santanu Bharali, senior officials of Home, Labour and Social Welfare department were also present at the meeting.